1973 ACOMA MINI COMTESSE 730

Country of origin: France 
Years of production: 1972-1977 
Number produced: ~10,000 (all models) 
Engine: Sachs Saxonette 47cc 2-stroke single-cylinder 
Cooling: Forced air 
Transmission: Centrifugal 2-speed 
Starter: Dynastart 
Electrical: 12V 
Power: 2.4 hp 
Top speed: ~28 mph 
Dimensions (LxWxH): 66”x35”x48” 
Weight: 300 pounds 
Construction: Fiberglass body on steel chassis 
Brakes: F & R mechanical drum 
Suspension: F & R rubber cushion 
Steering: Chain and sprocket 
Tire size: 3.50-8

The Mini Comtesse was Acoma’s first entry into the microcar world, but certainly not their last, as they saw significant success selling microcars. This car was in a class called ‘sans permis’, or ‘without permit’, meaning that no sort of license or registration was needed to drive the cars on the road.  

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After regulations becoming tighter on the class by the ‘60s, the Mini Comtesse was the first vehicle to be produced conforming to all new regulations. One of these included an extra deployable pedal inside that was connected to a ratcheting chain drive, which wrapped around a sprocket on the rear axle. This allowed you to manually propel the car, which qualified it as a moped. It was not a viable means of propulsion, as it only moves the car ~6” at a time, but it satisfied the law.

Being a single-seat vehicle, it is interesting that it has 2 doors: 1 normal style door, and 1 folding gullwing door. The reason for this is that if you parked the vehicle in a tight spot, the folding gullwing door made it easy to in and out of the car. It also has no reverse gear, but with its extremely light weight and 6’ turning circle, this was never much of a concern.

Surprisingly, these cars were quite expensive (more than a new VW, at the time), as they basically had a monopoly on the sales of cars to people without licenses or with suspended licenses. Even so, they sold several thousand during the production run and continuously expanded the model lineup after the Mini Comtesse.