OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

The car was given by the factory to Hyde to publicize the new KR
200 model. vic had already made a name for himself in america as
a multiple-instrument playing protégé of singer and entertainer Rudy
vallée, and he went overseas to tour with the large Circus Krone
organization. He modified the Messerschmitt so that it could carry his
musical instruments, and added a pair of chrome fender-mounted horns.
He toured Europe, the Scandinavian countries, and later america with
it. Decades later, he would still be driving his beloved Messerschmitt,
calling on friends across the U.S.a. to deliver parts and make repairs.
The numerous badges on the car, now valuable collector’s items in
themselves, bear witness to his travels. It was fitted, as original, with a
now rare and valuable Weltfunk autosuper aU545 radio and a separate
tube amplifier located under the rear seat.
The vic Hyde Messerschmitt was the
subject of a painstaking restoration
by the museum. This historically
significant car remains a fitting
tribute to a colourful personality,
and it can be celebrated as an
early champion of the microcar as
a collector’s item.
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