Since 1969

About us

From the first frames in Zuffenhausen to a factory team: the story of Mach1.

Hetschel, Mach1, KZH: the three belong together. Hetschel is the family behind the company, Mach1 is the make of our chassis and KZH stood for our engines. The brothers Lothar and Wilhelm Hetschel started it all. Martin Hetschel has been part of it since childhood, has worked in the management since 2006 and took over the company completely in 2014. It is still a family business.

We test where it counts most: in racing. Wilhelm Hetschel drove himself while his brother developed the technology. This loop of driving, learning and building further still shapes us. Drivers such as Heinz-Harald Frenzen, Jörg van Ommen and Michael Schumacher used equipment from Meimsheim at the start of their careers. In 2002, David Hemkemeyer won the European Formula A Championship on Mach1.

Today, our Mach1 karts and almost all accessories are made on around 5,000 m² in Meimsheim. With qualified staff we also produce parts and tools in small series and prototypes for automotive and machine-tool manufacturers (more at hetschel.de).

The Mach1 team with drivers and staff in front of the Mach1 banner, with a Zelos racing kart on each side

1969Founded 1973in Meimsheim 5,000 m²production on site Kart24web shop with fast delivery

Timeline

From 1969 to today

1965
Lothar and Wilhelm Hetschel start racing karts themselves.
1969
Hetschel is founded. The first Mach1 chassis is built in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen.
1970
The first race service bus goes out to races in Germany and abroad.
1972
Wilhelm Hetschel and Friedel Brenner win the 1000-lap race in Fulda on a Mach1. The first small series are built and Mach1 drivers take the top three places of the German Championship.
1973
The company moves to Meimsheim near Brackenheim. The first catalogue is published.
1976
New workshop at today's site in Meimsheim. The OKE drive (no chain) is filed for a patent.
1977
Premiere of the air-cooled 125 cc KZH engine with a 6-speed gearbox.
1985
The first homologated 100 cc KZH engine, made on computer-controlled machines. The first 150 engines sell out quickly.
1993
Wilhelm Hetschel develops the first working water-cooled 100 cc kart engine. Alexander Zwelbar wins the German Championship with it in 1995 and 1996.
1997
The RT1 rental kart is launched, a Mach1 for rental use.
1999
Construction of the new hall, which adds 1,200 m² of floor space.
2000
Move into the new hall: the last expansion to today's floor space.
2001
The Kart24 web shop goes online.
2002
David Hemkemeyer wins the European and German Championship on Mach1 with a KZH engine.
2005
The Mach1 Racing Team wins the German Kart Championship in 2004 and 2005.
2006
Martin Hetschel, part of the business since childhood, joins the management.
2010
The RT2 follows as the second rental model.
2011
Luca Walter wins the ADAC Kart Masters on Mach1, the start of a streak: two more titles follow in 2012 and 2013.
2013
The Mach1 CA2 arrives, a newly developed kart for the Bambini classes.
2014
Martin Hetschel takes over the company completely.
2014
Thierry Delré wins the X30 International Final in Le Mans (X30 Shifter) on Mach1. The new FIA5 follows in November.
2018
Julian Müller wins the ADAC Kart Masters in KZ2, Tim Tröger finishes runner-up in OK.
2019
50 years of Mach1 Kart. Tom Kalender wins the ADAC Kart Masters in Bambini.
2020
Tim Tröger wins the DSKC title.
2021
Zelos and Ares are launched: the new racing kart based on the FIA5 (homologation 2022) and the kart for the minis, successor to the CA2.
2022
The Cratos is launched as the successor to the JS1, at first as a petrol kart alongside an electric prototype. Today the same chassis is available with an electric or a petrol engine.
2024
At the ADAC Kart Bundesendlauf, Maxi Eigner (X30 Junior) and Erik Müller (KZ2) win on Mach1.
2025
Svenja Dreher is named best female driver of the DSKC and wins the final in Kerpen.
2026
The Talos is launched as the successor to the RT series (RT1 and RT2).
2026
Marc Gerstenkorn finishes runner-up in the German Kart Championship (KZ2 Cup) on Mach1.

See all titles and results

From the archive

Photos from the early years of Hetschel.

The race service bus with karts on the roof
The "Go-Kart Zentrale Hetschel"
Racing action with Mach1 karts
The Mach1 handbook for kart drivers
Engine building in the workshop
In the workshop
Cylinder heads in production

Photo: Hetschel archive

How we build

In-house manufacturing
We design and make almost all mechanical parts ourselves on modern CNC machines, so every part meets the quality we want.
Frames by hand
Frame building is handwork. Welds and their properties decide how a kart drives, and an experienced welder still beats a robot at it.
Service without detours
You reach our staff or the bosses themselves. Spare parts are in stock for almost every Mach1 kart, however old.

More about production and the business areas of Hetschel at hetschel.de.