Lot details
Registration No: 961 XUS
Chassis No: 328274
Mot Expiry: 04/10

The Isetta gave the world a new genre - 'bubble car' - thanks to its egg shape and bubble-like windows. But this was a vehicle with a serious purpose, an economy car intended to provide low-cost transport for two people and their luggage. The diminutive four-wheeler, whose ancestors included scooters and three-wheel mini trucks, was capable of barely 50mph, though the specifications included independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes. It caused a sensation upon launch at the 1953 Turin Motor Show and BMW (whose lavish model range was increasingly at odds with the poor economic climate) approached Iso with a view to building the Isetta under license. Suitably re-engineered, the first BMW Isetta appeared in April 1955. Updated the following year with the adoption of sliding windows and a larger 298cc single-cylinder four-stroke engine from the R27 motorcycle producing 13bhp that made 54mph a possibility, its popularity was increased still further by the 1956 Suez crisis.

The car was produced under licence in Spain, Belgium, France and Brazil as well as in Germany, and in 1957 Isetta of Great Britain began building a three-wheeler right-hand drive version in the former railway works in Brighton. With reverse gear disabled, this had the advantage that it could be driven on a motorcycle licence. This left-hand drive three-wheeler is a four-speed, and the owner describes it as "an exceptional original example in lovely condition", that has just had "a respray in two-pack and a new interior". He explains that the previous owner kept it for 23 years, during which time it had very little use, and that the engine "starts and runs well, with plenty of power". The mileage is currently believed but not warranted to be around 21,000 and it had a new clutch fitted in February. "Ready to jump in and drive" says the owner.