Lloyd LP 400 History

For 1953 Lloyd replaced the fabric-skinned LP 300 with the LP 400, whose most significant change was the adoption of rolled steel body panels — a proper car body at last. The engine grew to 386 cc and 13 hp, still a two-cylinder two-stroke but now housed in a more conventional-looking shell that could also be ordered as a Cabriolet, estate (Kombi), or van.

The LP 400 sold in dramatically larger numbers than its predecessor: 109,878 units between 1953 and 1957. This volume pushed Lloyd to third place in German annual registration statistics — behind only Volkswagen and Opel — a remarkable achievement for a tiny Bremen manufacturer producing economy cars that were still technically simple by any measure.

By mid-decade Lloyd was also exploring a lower-cost spin-off. The short-lived Lloyd 250 (1956–1957), with a 250 cc engine, targeted buyers who wanted to avoid the full driving licence; it sold in small numbers and was quickly dropped. The LP 400's success instead pointed upward: for 1955 Lloyd launched the more sophisticated 600 series alongside the 400, beginning a deliberate move out of the microcar class.