BMW Isetta, 1958
BMW Isetta
BMW Isetta•
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Chassis No.: 509322
Auction: Monterey 2017
Auction date: August 19, 2017
Lot No.: F7
$49,500 | Sold
- Exterior: Red
- Interior: Red
- 236cc single-cylinder 4-stroke engine
- 4-speed manual transmission
- 7.5 feet long and 4.5 feet wide
- Canvas roof
- Red and White leather interior
This BMW Isetta is likely one of the most forward-thinking cars of its time. Restored in red and white with a matching interior, it is in striking condition and hard to miss. Powered by a 298cc single-cylinder engine with a 4-speed manual transmission, the BMW Isetta was the first mass-production car to achieve 78 MPG. Isetta was the brainchild of Renzo Rivolta, owner of Iso Autoveicoli S.p.A., an Italian company manufacturing refrigerators, scooters and 3-wheeled utility trucks.
Rivolta decided the world needed an affordable vehicle that was both easy and inexpensive to maintain, would avoid large taxation, prove infinitely easy to drive even in the most congested of cities and be easy to produce. Two engineers, Pierluigi Raggi and Ermenegildo Preti, designed a car small enough to be powered by a 9.5 HP, 236cc motorcycle engine, and they called it Isetta, translating to “Little Iso.” The car sent a shockwave through the media when it was introduced in 1953; it was like nothing anyone had ever seen. It measured a tiny 7.5-feet long and 4.5-feet wide.
The entire front end swung outwardly to allow egress and ingress, and a canvas roof provided a second exit in the event of a frontal collision. Opening the door took the instrument cluster and steering wheel with it. The passenger compartment was just a greenhouse, or bubble, earning it the nickname “bubble car.” The only option at the time was a heater; the spare tire was located beneath the package tray behind the seat. Licensing production, Isetta was produced in a number of countries by a number of companies, though most notably BMW, who marketed the Isetta very intelligently and aggressively.
Today, Isettas are sought-after collectibles, and this fine example is set to provide its next caretaker with miles of smiles.Fab design is one of the world finest aerodynamic kit companies!
