CAR.SPACE
Isetta 250
BMW›Isetta›300

Isetta 250

300 · 1955–1956RWDMicrocar

The original 247 cc version. BMW classified the car as a Motocoupe; the Microcar label is this catalogue's own classifier. A separate production figure for the 250 is not established: the 22,000 quoted by Hagerty covers the first year of production rather than this variant.

12 hpPower
85 km/hTop Speed
1955-1956Year
Gallery

Isetta 250, every angle

Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Isetta 250Exterior
Own work · 1955 BMW Isetta 300 · Beaulieu Motor Museum: Service Bay with a BMW Isetta 300 (1962) by Michael Garlick · BMW Isetta 300 (1956) · BMW Isetta 300 (1957) · BMW Isetta 300
Engineering passport

Specifications

Powertrain
Engineering details
Engine0.25 Single-cylinder (R25/3)
Displacement0.2 L
Cylinders1
FuelPetrol
Transmission4-speed Manual
DrivetrainRWD
Performance
Numbers that matter
Power12 hp
Top speed85 km/h
BodyMicrocar

STORY

The tiny BMW Isetta is the unlikely car that saved BMW. In the mid-1950s the company was in deep financial trouble, caught between fading motorcycle sales and money-losing luxury cars. Under licence from the Italian firm Iso, BMW re-engineered the egg-shaped "bubble car" around its own motorcycle-derived engine. It was famous for its single front-opening door, which swung out like a refrigerator.

It was cheap, sipped fuel, and arrived exactly when post-war Europe needed affordable mobility. BMW sold tens of thousands in the first year and more than 160,000 in total, and the profits kept the company alive long enough to develop the Neue Klasse that would truly turn its fortunes around. Few cars so humble have ever mattered so much to a great marque's survival.

Source ↗

Price Evolution

Loading auction history…

Track Records

Loading records…