Microcar MC1 and MC2

Microcar began in a yacht yard. Jeanneau, a builder of pleasure boats in polyester, set up a car division at the end of the 1970s and showed its first voiture sans permis, the Microcar RJ49, in October 1980.source 1source 2 The old microcarfan.com, one collector’s account, followed the marque from there to the Virgo of 1997.source 1 In 1995 Jeanneau, Microcar included, passed to the boat builder Bénéteau, and in 2000 a new factory opened at Boufféré, in the Vendée, with about 150 staff.source 2source 3

In September 2003 Microcar launched the MC1, a bold bet to replace the conservative Virgo.source 4source 5 It was the first Microcar built round an aluminium frame, a safety cell clothed in thermoformed ABS panels, instead of a glass-fibre shell: buyers wanted more and more equipment, and a licence-free car had to stay under 350 kg (772 lb) unladen.source 4source 5 The engine, a Lombardini diesel twin of 505 cc and 4 kW (5.4 hp), sat in front and drove the front wheels through a fully automatic, continuously variable transmission, and the law held it to 45 km/h (28 mph).source 3source 6 The MC1 was 2,800 mm (110 in) long, 1,490 mm (59 in) wide and 1,420 mm (56 in) high.source 3

The trade press saw a Citroën C2 in its nose and an Audi A2 in its tail, and the customers did not like the look.source 5source 7 Nor did they like what was inside: at launch the MC1 had a one-piece bench instead of two seats, which was unusual and unpopular.source 4source 5 Nine months on, in May 2004, Microcar added two versions, the MC1 Préférence, with separate seats, metallic grey paint and a glass roof for €100 more, at €11,480, and the MC1 Family at €11,600. The Virgo was stopped, its sales ending that summer.source 4 Christophe Rieger, Microcar’s deputy managing director for sales, insisted that the Préférence had been planned from the launch.source 4

Leaks and a lost place

Early cars let in water, dealers gossiped, and the MC1 earned a difficult reputation. Microcar had been second in the French licence-free market since 1987; it lost that place to Ligier.source 5 By the end of August 2006 Ligier held 21 per cent of the market and Microcar 19.5.source 7

The range grew all the same. The long MC2, 3,100 mm (122 in) by German Wikipedia’s figure, seated four, or two with a larger boot.source 3source 5 The MPS versions had a driver’s airbag, by Le Journal de l’Automobile’s account a world first in a licence-free car.source 5 In the autumn of 2006 both cars were facelifted: a new bonnet, bumper, grille and lamps, clear “crystal” rear lamps and a chrome exhaust tip outside; inside, a wider dashboard, a lid for the glovebox, door bins, a ceiling light, denser matt plastics and better sound insulation; and cheaper 145/70 R13 tyres. A Yanmar diesel twin of 523 cc, with more torque and a thirst to match, became an option on the Préférence MC1 and MC2 at €350.source 7source 3 Microcar also began to sell Bellier’s small utility as the Microcar Sherpa.source 7

With a licence

In Britain and some other markets the MC1 and MC2 came with a 505 cc Lombardini petrol twin of 15 kW, good for up to 115 km/h (71 mph), and needed a licence.source 3source 6 CAR magazine tested one in 2007. It found it fairly nippy, thanks to its 355 kg (783 lb), at its best in corners, and slightly better to drive than to look at. Much else it disliked: the fit of the front panels, the shudder, a steering column that wobbled at idle, the lack of headroom, and a transmission that felt like a self-propelled lawn mower’s. Ten miles, its tester wrote, felt like an ordeal.source 6

Into Ligier’s hands

In April 2008 Bénéteau sold Microcar to Ligier. Boufféré was then building nearly 7,000 vehicles a year.source 2source 3source 8 That June the MC range had a last fling with the MC Highland, an MC2 dressed up as a four-by-four, and at the end of 2008 the more conventional MGo replaced it.source 5source 9 Microcar was merged into Automobiles Ligier on 25 August 2014 and lived on as a brand until the end of 2024. In January 2025 Ligier announced that production at Boufféré, down from 45 vehicles a day to 10, would move to Abrest, in the Allier, by September; of 145 jobs, about 20 were to be kept.source 2source 8

The MC1 and MC2 are still everyday used cars in France, and no collector market or auction record for them has been found. They appear in the photographs at work in Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Portugal.