The aluminum-bodied coach has one refrigerator, two stove burners, three doors, and four speeds—all of them slow. Originally built in 1955 and equipped with a Porsche 356’s air-cooled flat-four as part of the “Sport” model, the listing notes that it’s now powered by a “boxer 4-cylinder engine,” which is a nice way of saying the Porsche engine is gone and it’s now motivated by a VW-spec four-cylinder.
The construction of the Mikafa included a lightweight body made from aluminum alloy with a lightweight frame, all the furniture and fittings were kept as a light as possible as well, and perspex was used for some of the windows.
German coachbuilder Mikafa started out as an aircraft builder but had to give up the trade in the years after WW2 during the disarmament of Germany.
The company pivoted to coachbuilding and created a line of travel trailers (caravans) using Hahn trailer axles. These sold well enough, Germans take their holidays very seriously after all, and soon enough the company began offering full size camper vans like the one you see here.
In 1952 Tempo and Volkswagen had a significant contractual dispute, and the supply of engines dried up forcing Tempo to source engines from elsewhere including Austin 4-cylinders and even a few BMW V8s. In 1955 Porsche 356 engines were producing approximately 60 bhp, a considerable bump over the 25 hp VW units
One of the rarest Mikafa models, the Mikafa Sport Camper, was fitted with a Porsche 356 engine. Porsche badging was added prominently front and rear, the Porsche flat-4 was fitted up front in a 4 speed, front wheel drive configuration.
https://silodrome.com/porsche-tempo-mikafa-sport-camper/
https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0819-381054/1955-tempo-mikafa-sport-camper/
https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/06/20/rare-porsche-rv-slow-but-awesome
if it seems vaguely familiar, it's because I posted a Mikafa a couple years ago https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-biggest-tempo-matador-ever-made-rv.html
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