Kiawah 2016 Highlights – 1959 Berkeley SE492 – Micromini FWD English Roadster?!



It is difficult to describe how small this car is. The 1959 Berkeley Sports Twosome SE492 is about the size of a normal carnival bumper-car.  And perhaps only slightly larger than most PowerWheels children’s toys.

Its 70-inch wheelbase meets extremely low and narrow overall dimensions — and is literally dwarfed by some of the bigger classic cars parked nearby.

The concept of a lightweight and cheap English roadster was taken to new millimeter-small dimensions during the 1956-1960 production run of the Berkeley automotive venture.

The engine of this SE492 is an air-cooled triple making just 30 horsepower. A four-speed automatic send power up front and let the SE492 hit a (frightening?) 80-mph top end.  Just under 670 units in total were produced, with few US survivors — perhaps under a dozen across the country.

1959 Berkeley SE492