1959 BMW Isetta, Silver and Black, Concourse level Restoration.
Picnic Basket. $47,000 The car is period correct restored with
unique original finishes. Call me at 952-451-2104 Terry
[email protected] www.classicridesandrods.net With just
13 horsepower, every drive in an Isetta is an adventure, and it is
nearly impossible not to smile when stirring the 4-speed gearbox
and listening to the little single-cylinder buzz of this
well-sorted example. To many collectors, it doesn't bother them
that the car doesn't go very fast. Small and unassuming though it
may be, it is without question a significant vehicle in BMW's
history. Renzo Rivolta's Isothermos company had begun life pre-war
making refrigerators. Rivolta was passionate about all things
petrol-powered, and he began to expand the company's range, adding
motorbikes to the portfolio, renaming the works Iso Autoveicoli
S.p.A. After World War II. Introduced in 1953, the egg-shaped
Isetta was like nothing seen before, boasting a hinged front for
entry, the steering column and instruments swinging out with the
door to facilitate easy access to the bench seat. Power was
provided by a 236 cc two-stroke engine, which drove the closely
spaced twin rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox. A
clutch-operated, four-speed motorcycle gearbox drove the twin rear
wheels, which were placed just 20.5 inches apart. In the 1954 Mille
Miglia, Isettas claimed the first three places in the economy
classification, the winner averaging over 70km/h. BMW approached
the owner of Italian company Iso and its designer/owner Count Renzo
Rivolta with the idea of purchasing the rights to build the car.
Rivolta sold not only the production rights to the Iso but much of
the body tooling as well. BMW debuted the Isetta at the 1955
Frankfurt Auto Show and fitted it with its own 12-horsepower,
247-cubic centimeter four-stroke engine, later upsizing it to 297
cubic centimeters with 13 horsepower, as this model has. The
tubular chassis provided for a light body, which weighed in at just
700 pounds. In combination with the motorcycle engine, it offered
miserly fuel consumption and a mere DM 2,580 purchase price, which
was just 500 more than the R25 motorcycle with which it shared its
engine.
