Is the classic BMW Isetta to return as a city car for the 21st Century?
German car companies were crawling out from the rubble of WWII during the 1950s, as was the German economy. Micro cars were all many motorists could afford, and they were served by a parade of tiny wonders like the Messerschmitt, Gogomobil, and BMW's beloved Isetta.
The Isetta was originally developed and introduced by an Italian company called Iso. Its founder was itching to build a luxury GT car called the iso Rivolta so he eagerly sought to license the manufacture of the company's diminutive "bubble" car. Isettas were built in several countries. BMW's version was totally re-engineered and no parts are interchangeable with the orignial Iso Isetta.
The fact that the steering wheel is attached to the door and the entire front of the car opens for entry and exit can't have made much of a contribution to safety, but in those days no one cared. Its 250cc single-cylinder motorcycle engine had a horsepower rating of 13. German law classified the Isetta as a motorocycle so that's all the license one needed.
BMW built a total of 161,728 Isettas between 1955-62.
The new BMW Isetta appears to be little more than a trial balloon at this point. BMW has only released a slick illustration of what might be. It's a safe bet the new Isetta won't have a door in the front, or two rear wheels grouped so close together they might as well be one. If produced, the Isetta version 2 would probably be the greenest car produced by BMW and might offer Volkswagen's proposed 1Litre hyper mileage car some real competition.
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