Úttörô
The Úttörô [Pioneer] was one of the best publicised privately-built microcar. It was designed by János Schadek in Debrecen, east Hungary in 1954. He was a mechanical engineer. While studying at the University he built his first touring car between 1922 and 1927 and in 1930 a Morgan-like tricar. Then he took over the wire-making factory of his father-in-law. After the War he tried to avoid nationalization, but he couldn't and eventually all the small factories of Debrecen were united into the Locksmith and Iron-founder Company. Schadek became the chief engineer.
He decided to design a two-seater small car. He had some conversations with two locksmiths János Puskás and István Schwanner. Both of them had repaired and assembled airplanes previously. The three experienced men built the Úttörô from scratch.
The car was powered by a Csepel 250 cc motorbike engine, placed on the rear axle. Instead of having a starter, a "kick start" was used. The gear was taken from a motorbike. The small wheels were taken from a barrow. The steering shaft was directly connected to the front axle. This meant a very rude and sensitive driving so it was replaced by rack and pinion steering. The car reached a maximum speed of 80 km/h. It was examined by the Hungarian Research Institute of Automobile Transport in the spring of 1955. After that they sent it back to Debrecen. It was finally sent to Székesfehérvár.
