50 Years of BMW Isetta

Bubble car celebrates 50th anniversary on 05 March 2005

Munich. Life certainly wasn't dull in 1955. It was the year of "Lolita",
Vladimir Nabokov's eyebrow-raising slant on the conflict between the
generations, the year of James Dean's tragic death and of a long-awaited
homecoming for the 9,626 German POWs still held in the Soviet Union. Everyday
life in Germany was regaining an almost forgotten sense of normality and the
economic hardship endured by its people had started to ease. The advent of
disposal income fed demand for more comfortable ways of getting around and the
dream of driving through the new federal republic, or even away on holiday, in
a weatherproof car was sweeping the nation.
A very special kind of excitement that year was reserved for 12,911 car
drivers, owners of the first BMW aimed at the cash-conscious motorist. The
Isetta was an egg-shaped, two-and-a-bit-seater "Motocoupé" brought to the boil
by a perky, rear-mounted 12-horsepower engine. Its only door opened out ahead
of the driver and passenger and the distance between the rear wheels was not
even half that at the front - no BMW before or since has boasted quite such an
idiosyncratic appeal. Indeed, not content with its unorthodox front-opening
mechanism, the door came as one unit with the steering wheel and dashboard. The
driver changed gear using a small, floor-mounted gear lever positioned to his
or her left which recalled the system used by the Formula racing cars of the
time.

44 marks in tax - "less than a city dachshund"
The Isetta had arrived. BMW hit the nail on the head, describing its new model
as an "ideal driving solution for anybody looking for an agile and nimble car
with low running costs which is easy to park or fit in the garage". Alongside
its technical qualities, the Isetta also had economic benefits. A price tag of
just DM 2,550 was good news for German workers bringing home an average of DM
90 a week. Compulsory third-party insurance was set at DM 95, while the bill
from the tax authorities ran to only 44 marks - "less than a city dachshund",
as the advertising was at pains to point out.
The BMW "bubble car" remained a common sight into the 1960s, helping to fuel
the surge in holiday traffic. The 85 km/h top speed was perhaps best enjoyed on
a trip over the Alps to Italy, the Isetta's birthplace. It was on a visit to
the 1954 Geneva Motor Show that a BMW dealer unearthed what was then something
of a rough diamond. The Munich-based manufacturer acquired the Isetta licence
from Italian firm Iso, gave the "smooch-ball" a new drive unit - from a BMW
single-cylinder motorcycle - and re-trimmed its Italian robes, before bringing
its new car onto the market around a year later.

A gift from the King? Elvis and the Isetta
But it wasn't just Germany that fell under the spell of the "rolling egg".
BMW's Isetta was delivered to customers far beyond its native borders and even
made the journey overseas "with protection from attack by fungus and termites".
Elvis was photographed with one of the cars sent to the USA. The King himself
preferred the more regal surroundings of a BMW 507 sports car but, as legend
has it, he bought the Isetta as a gift for his manager. Everyone wanted to be
seen with the charming new Motocoupé, celebrities and VIPs queuing up to share
the lens with the smallest member of the BMW car family. And Germany's post-war
film industry would have been a star poorer without its show-stealing
character.
Sales figures refused to slow after the surprising success of 1955, despite
prophecies of doom from some quarters, and in 1956 BMW added new models to the
range. The 250 cc Isetta original was joined by a more powerful 300 cc 13
horsepower brother, and both variants were available in the higher-row export
version with top-hung side windows and an improved chassis. BMW also laid on a
range of optional extras, including right-hand drive instead of left, a
soft-top roof and a removable cargo platform with 200 kg payload and complete
with strengthened suspension.

The end of an era: the last Isetta rolls off the production line in 1962.
In Germany, only the Glas Goggomobil rivalled the Isetta as the most successful
car of its kind. In 1957 - the Motocoupé's peak year - BMW sold almost 40,000
Isettas, before demand for slightly larger models with four seats and the
stature of "real" cars swung the balance away from microcars. BMW responded to
these market developments with the introduction of the 600, a longer version of
the Isetta with a rear-mounted twin-cylinder Boxer engine. However, the tubby
four-seater only lasted until 1959, when it was replaced by the significantly
more advanced BMW 700, whose "ponton" body was underpinned by a self-supporting
construction for the first time. The Isetta, meanwhile, remained in production
and continued to enjoy huge popularity, especially outside Germany. The last of
its 161,728 units to be built finally rolled off the assembly line in 1962.