How much would you pay for a car that could fit in the bed of most pickup trucks?

If that car is a 1958 FMR Tg500 Tiger, like a Messerschmitt with four wheels, the answer is $280,000.

Well, you might not pay that personally, but somebody did, as hundreds of microcars were auctioned at the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Georgia.

It's set a World Record for microcar sales, but it was by no means the only expensive vehicle to cross the auction block.

Between vehicles and memorabilia, the entire collection is estimated to have sold for just under $8 million.

Several vehicles alone sold for well over $100,000, reports Classic and Sports Car. The aforementioned Tiger nearly doubling its $150,000 estimate. Peels, Goggomobils and Messerschmitts all crashed through the $100K barrier, and many more got close.

Even considering the immaculate condition of many of the examples, their sale prices were astonishing, and reflected the huge hype surrounding the event.

People are increasingly turning to classic vehicles as investments these days. As banks collapse, interest rates stagnate and stock markets remain unpredictable, a classic car is virtually always an appreciating asset.

Valuable they may be, but we also hope at least some of the buyers take them for a spin, now and then. Microcars may look a little odd to modern eyes, but the freedom they represent is enjoyable even at the lowest speeds.

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