BMW Isetta.

BMW was on the brink of bankruptcy in the mid-1950s. Motorcycle production was declining. Luxury vehicles like the 503 and the 507 were so expensive to produce that BMW suffered losses on these models.

BMW needed a new model – one that would not require a lot of development costs. BMW found its solution at the 1954 Turin Car Show. At the Iso Rivolta booth, an Italian maker of refrigerators and mini cars, there was a three-wheeled car with a huge door (which looked surprisingly similar to a refrigerator door) in the front.

It was called the Iso Isetta. The BMW delegation acquired the licensing rights for the Isetta and for the production equipment as well.

First, BMW had to “refine” the motor and the chassis of the Italian bubble car.
Even after it was modified by the BMW developers who were used to designing performance cars, the technical specifications seemed rather modest. At the start of production in 1955, the BMW Isetta 250 was redesigned to take a modified version of the engine from a motorcycle. The single cylinder generated exactly 12hp.

BMW kept the bubble car’s original Italian name: Isetta is the diminutive form of Iso. In 1956, the Bavarian factory put out a version with higher performance - the BMW Isetta 300 with 13hp engine. Both versions could reach speeds of up to 85km/h.

The BMW marketing department came up with the term "motocoupé" for the bubble car. There was no better car for zipping around in a city or for short distances. Because it was 2.28m long and weighed a mere 350kg, it was more manoeuvrable than almost any other car.

Since the door opens to the front and the steering wheel and steering column swing with it, it’s easy to get in and out. Luggage goes on the outside on a luggage rack that mounts onto the back. The Isetta was no mini sedan – it was a new kind of car. It was the right kind of car for the 1950s.

Not many changes were made to the Isetta while it was in production. The first series had a larger back window than the second, and the window that opened to the side was replaced by a sliding window. All Isettas had a canvas roof, similar to today’s sunroof. Not because of customer demand, but because an emergency exit was mandatory since you entered the car through a front door.

The motocoupé became a much-needed best seller. At only 2550 German marks (about 1450 US-dollars or 1300 Euros today), the Isetta was a car most people could afford. And Isetta drivers didn’t need an expensive car licence, all they needed was a motorcycle licence.

With 10000 cars sold in the first year, the Isetta was found all over Germany and then later in other countries. Over the eight years it was in production, 161728 Isettas were sold.

Today, it remains one of the most successful one-cylinder cars in the world. When production stopped in 1962, the era of the bubble car came to an end. By that time, the standard of living had improved and people wanted full-size cars.