The Turicum was a Swiss automobile manufactured from 1904 to 1906 in Zürich and from 1907 to 1912 in Uster. The car's name Turicum is the Latin name of Zürich. The first car made by Martin Fischer was a small single-seater go-kart like vehicle. The car was 140 cm (55 in) long, with pedal-operated steering and powered by a motorcycle engine. The car had a chain drive, while a second prototype had a friction drive. The friction drive consisted of a flat steel disc coupled to the engine that drove a small, leather-covered wheel running at right angles to its surface. The small wheel could be moved across the surface of the large disc, giving a variable gear ratio. The cars attracted little public interest. Swiss industrialist Jakob Heusser was involved in the venture.