Simon Cars - BMW Isetta

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Isetta

At the 1953 Turin show the 'Isetta' was shown, a 3-wheeled bubble car' with a scooter engine. A 236cc 2-stroke engine powered the Isetta which originally had three wheels, and later was given two narrowly space rear wheels for better stability. There was an Isetta Autocarro commercial version which had a conventional four wheel layout. In 1954 the Isetta was licensed to Germany (BMW Isetta), France (VELAM Isetta), Brazil and Britain. Iso stopped making Italian Isettas in 1955. VELAM Isettas used hardly any components from the original Isetta, making use of a chassis-less body, a VELAM engine and different suspension. BMW had bought the Isetta tooling, but used their own 247cc four stroke engine, and many other components were re-engineered. In 1956 the BMW Isetta was upgraded to the '300' with long sliding windows and 298cc engine. From 1957-59 BMW produced the Isetta 600 with a 582cc engine, seating for four, and a conventional four wheel layout. Production ceased in 1962 as Minis Fiat 500s and similar cars provided cheaper and more comfortable transport.

BMW Isetta 300 - front badge		BMW Isetta 1956. Most Isettas were left-hand drive, with the door handle on the front-opening door on the right hand side and the hinges on the left hand side.	BMW Isetta 1956. When BMW started manufacturing the Isetta under licence, they kept the bodywork almost the same at the start, with its bubble canopy. The front door was hinged on the left-hand side with the handle and the opening on the right. The steering wheel was on the left.	BMW Isetta 300. BMW had introduced their version of the Isetta in 1955 with twin rear wheels and their own 247cc engine. The bubble canopy was retained until 1957.
BMW Isetta 1958. In 1957 BMW restyled the bubble canopy to give the Isetta long sliding side windows.	BMW Isetta 1958. British Isettas were usually sold with a single rear wheel to comply with licensing and taxation regulations for three wheelers which could be driven as a motorcycle.	BMW 300 Isetta. The 300 lost its 'bubble' windows and gained a larger 298cc engine to comply with new German regulations.	BMW Isetta 1960 300. Germany favoured the twin wheeled Isetta, and from October 1956 the engine was uprated to 298cc and 13bhp.	BMW Isetta 300
BMW Isetta 300. Its name meaning 'little Iso,' the Isetta was designed and first manufactured by the same Italian firm that later produced the exotic Iso Rivolta, Iso Fidia and Iso Grifo.	BMW Isetta 1956. When BMW started manufacturing the Isetta under licence, they kept the bodywork almost the same at the start, with its bubble canopy. A sunroof was fitted to all Isettas and it has been suggested this would act as an emergency exit if the door jammed shut.	BMW 300 Isetta. The 300 gained long sliding side windows in place of the previous 'bubble' windows.	BMW Isetta 1960 300. In October 1956, following a change in German regulations it was permitted to have engines up to 300cc, so BMW enlarged their engine to 297cc and tuned it to give 13bhp	Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (B.M.W.)

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key text: This is the page introducing Simons love of cars from the website RedSimon which is a series of photo albums of Simon GP Geoghegan.
The names of Pinin, Farina, and Pininfarina are also considered
There are also notes on Pininfarina
as well as the car maker
and links tothat car maker
see also my Picasa car albums
withe even more on RedSimon
Simon is also a contributor to SuperCars.Net
And also to Wikipedia
Photos may be purchased from PhotoBox