Messerschmitt-Werke in Nerja, southern Spain.

Achim Adlfinger loves everything that is fast and that can be made even faster. Whether it’s a car or a powerboat – in his opinion, anything that is fast is usually also beautiful, because “form follows function”! 
The plastics and automotive engineer has already built a carbon-Kevlar body for a Chevrolet Corvette for the Geiger company in Munich, which at that time already reached 360 km/h, and perfected powerboats with over 1000 hp in Spain according to this ironclad design rule. Since the turn of the millennium, the native Bavarian has been directing his projects from sunny southern Spain, but is in contact with a network of manufactures and component manufacturers all over the world. The idea of building a replica of the Messerschmitt cabin scooter had actually been circulating among the fan community of these post-war classics for decades. Several hobbyists and amateurs there had already tried their hand at this idea with moderate success. Adlfinger, who had many years of experience in the manufacture of vehicle components, wanted to give the project a professional foundation and in 2013 he put the first prototype on its wheels in just four months. The dream, however, was not just to produce a one-off as a bow to the ingenious designer Fritz Fend, but to revive the Messerschmitt brand. To do this, Achim Adlfinger first had to convince the Messerschmitt Foundation in Munich! He literally had to prove that he had produced the prototype and could actually produce series-produced road-legal vehicles that met the foundation’s high standards.

Today, the KR 202 Sport and the KR 202 E can justifiably and proudly bear the Messerschmitt name and logo. In today’s Messerschmitt factories in Nerja in southern Spain, all the components of the retro cabin scooter are combined to create individual vehicles. Since the vehicles have been able to demonstrate German registration, demand has increased by leaps and bounds, especially from the USA and the United Kingdom. This is because the German TÜV is also regarded there as a reliable basis, indeed as a benchmark for the technical homologation of the vehicles. But unimpressed by the high demand and the growing waiting list, Achim Adlfinger continues to rely on quality and manual work by proven specialists. Just like in a motorsport racing team, the focus is on the cleanest workmanship, technical solidity and aesthetics. Fritz Fend would be thrilled to observe the care taken in the production of the cabin scooters! And yet the KR 202 Sport and KR 202 E models are not the end of the model range: anyone who knows Achim Adlfinger knows that the vehicle optimiser with an honorary doctorate never stops developing design and performance. He will remain true to the form of the classic Messerschmitt models. But for him, “beautiful” is what is also “fast”. So we can look forward to seeing which models will soon be on display at the Circuito Mike G Guadix test track close to home …