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By
DAVID PIKE
On first sighting most BMW owners would probably never believe that a
car of this design carried the famous logo of this marque. Perhaps on
reflection they may realise that BMW are also famous for their range of
motorcycles and hence could understand that such a vehicle could have
come from Bayerische Motoren Werke of Germany.
Originally designed in Italy where the concept
found little interest it later became one of the most successful
mini-cars in postwar Germany. It was powered by a 247cc BMW
motorcycle engine and first built in 1955. In 1957 a facelifted
version was introduced which featured a 297cc engine variant.
Domestic models had four wheels but some models built for export
were designed with only a single rear wheel to take advantage of
tax structures in certain countries that favoured three-wheel
vehicles with lower tax rates.
Chassis and engine of the Isetta were simplicity
itself, with the motorcycle-derived single-cylinder engine and
entire drivetrain packed in ahead of and between the narrowly
spaced rear wheels. It was air cooled, fitted with drum brakes,
weighed 360 kg and had a maximum speed of 85 km/h. Over 150,000
units were produced during the period 1955 to 1962.
The front opening door, taking the steering wheel
and instrument panel with it, was common to all Isetta variations.
It was a rear-engined two-seater with simple sliding-panel side
windows and a sunroof. The headlights were mounted on either side
of the driver's compartment back from the opening front door
rather like the peripheral lights of a diving bell.
Occupant safety was obviously not on the designers
agenda. The interior door handle was opposite the driver and in a
front end accident, the driver would likely be pinioned by the
flimsy steering wheel, and would be unable to reach the door
latch. Beyond that, any serious front end collision would very
likely have resulted in the deaths of driver and passenger, as
there was no substantial structure to prevent the Isetta from
crumpling front to rear like a piece of paper. Should the
occupants have survived a head-on, there was no way short of
smashing the windows to escape, as the only normal egress was the
(probably) jammed front door. Also, in those days before
standardised seatbelts, there was nothing in the Isetta to keep
the passenger from hurtling through the front windshield.
Had the Isetta been a good-handling little
machine, one could have driven defensively, but its
wide-front-narrow-back track widths were best suited to go in a
straight line. Incidentally, the back wheels also steered the car,
making this strange little car truly mechanically backward.
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