Bmw Isetta Saved Bmw

The 1956 BMW Isetta looked like a toy at a time when BMW was better known for elegant sedans and fast motorcycles, yet this tiny bubble car became the unlikely product that kept the company alive. BMW followed the Isetta 250 and Isetta 300 models with the Isetta 600. According to Hagerty, this model was upgraded to a 582 cc flat.

The weirdest ever BMW that opened like a fridge, the iconic BMW Isetta, was actually the car that saved the German brand. BMW is perhaps most famous for cars like the M5, the M3, and the M1 supercar, but in the 1950s, it was producing a quirky. The BMW Isetta features a 236cc single-cylinder 4-stroke engine, generating 12 horsepower at 5200 rpm and 10 ft-lbs of torque at 4600 rpm.

This compact engine serves as the core of this iconic bubble car, offering sufficient power for urban driving and short commutes. Coupled with a 4-speed manual transmission, the Isetta's performance is modest yet efficient, perfectly complementing its. Originally built by an Italian company known for its refrigerators, the Isetta was one of the most popular vehicles in post-war Europe.

Two years after its introduction, it received BMW badges. They licensed a tiny Italian design and turned it into the BMW Isetta - a microcar built to save fuel, save money, and most importantly, save the company. It wasn't about speed or luxury.

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. Advertisement It's also worth noting that the gearbox on this is a four speed.

The BMW I was unfortunate enough to drive last week was the Isetta, more commonly known as the tiny and rotund 'bubble car', as built between 1955 and 1962. At one time, the BMW Isetta was the best-selling single-cylinder engined car in the world, with 161,728 examples sold overall, and the model being the first British-built BMW ever made (in Brighton), from 1957 onwards. The Isetta.

BMW added a larger 300 cm3 (2,710 DM) to the Isetta lineup in 1956, that produced exactly one more horsepower than the original 250 version and had an unchanged top speed.