The Mikrus MR300 design was developed in 1957 by a team of designers from the Transport Equipment Factories in Mielec and Rzeszów. Its design made use of an existing model, the German Goggomobil T250 microcar manufactured by Hanns Glass GmbH. The Mikrus had a monocoque body and independent suspension of each wheel. It was propelled by a two-cylinder, two-stroke Mi300 engine designed especially for this vehicle and placed at the rear. In terms of the solutions adopted, just like the Goggomobil, the Mikrus was a miniature version of a passenger car without the use of any motorcycle parts. The design was highly simplified and consisted only of a speedometer with an odometer, control lights, an ignition switch with a starter motor switch, and a spare wheel. The complete, ready-to-drive structure weighed only 472 kg. The body has an interesting monocoque structure, built with the help of aviation technologies.
The Mikrus was designed to carry two adults and two children. Its design was intended to enable cheap, mass production, ensure ease of operation and low running costs, and contribute to the spread of individual motoring in Poland by virtue of being an inexpensive substitute for a passenger car. In practice, in 1958 its price was around 50,000 zlotys, which was the equivalent of about 50 average salaries. In a country still recovering from the damage of war and struggling with many shortages, this price was prohibitive and made it inaccessible to the wider population.
Due to the car’s high manufacturing cost and unreliability, production was discontinued in 1959: some 1728 vehicles were manufactured. The unit presented here was the first to be included in the inventory of the Museum of Urban Engineering. It was acquired in 1999.