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BMW Isetta the 50s micro car that saved BMW
>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=ET0l5ht1MWE
Check out channel sponsor Bidding Classics to buy yourself a classic, or perhaps sell the one in your garage at home to free up the space for something new: http://bit.ly/BiddingClassicsIDriveAC... • _______ • BMW Isetta • Whilst today we consider BMW a strong automotive brand with a keen following, the situation was very different in the mid 50s whereby the company was facing bankruptcy. • The company had created beautiful vehicles like the 503 and 507 which were luxurious, head turning motors; but here’s the thing, they were making losses on every sale. • So to survive, BMW had to change their tactics entirely. They needed to come up with a cheap car which would be an instant success, make the company money without years of investment into design and needed little in the way of development. • I bet nobody in those initial meetings thought a fridge maker would save the day, but that’s exactly what happened at the 54 Turin Car Show where Iso Rivolta were debuting a three wheeled car with a giant door on the front which they’d named the Iso Isetta. • BMW immediately realised it was the exact car they were looking for, despite being a world away from the luxe cars loved by customers and from 1955, the Isetta was produced under license. • In the early days, the slightly refined design was fitted with a modified version of the 250 four-stroke engine which had been used in the R25 motorcycle, giving 12 horsepower. However, by the point this particular example was sold, BMW had introduced a 300cc engine - which still retained a top speed of 53mph. • It’s also worth noting that the gearbox on this is a four speed manual with reverse - the onus was on the owner of the vehicle to blank off reverse if they were only driving on a bike license! No automatic transmission units were ever fitted to these as standard. • Whilst they were cheap as chips at launch, roughly 1500 dollars, 1300 euros or 1250 great british pounds today - in today’s modern world with them being a cult collector vehicle, prices are easily 10 times that in the UK alone. • Like many mid century classics, the Isetta has a lively club and social scene through the collective microcars groups and parts are still obtainable to some degree, making them despite their small stature, a very usable classic and one which can be maintained and enjoyed. Nigel the owner of this has even been to Europe in it! • The Isetta was in production for eight years and over 160,000 of them were sold worldwide making it the most popular one cylinder car in the world. • It might seem a gimmick today to some onlookers - but in a world where there was a need for cars but not much cash to spend on them, bubble cars served a valid and worthy market position. Plus, the bubble car market was open to everyone - not just those with a car license!
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