Type of body: Hatchback

BMW 300 ISETTA

- Delivered new to Belgium

- Un-restored and highly original

- Matching numbers

Immensely popular during the 1950s and 1960s, the diminutive 'bubble car' is currently enjoying a revival of interest. Nowadays though, the Bubble's attraction has just as much to do with fashion as practicality. A design the German BMW firm manufactured under license from its Italian originator, Iso. Faced with competition from the Fiat 500 and 600, both of which were seen as 'proper'; motor cars, albeit small, Renzo Rivalti's Iso was not selling well in its native Italy and it would be left to BMW to fully exploit the design's potential. 

The Isetta built for the German market was powered by a BMW single-cylinder four-stroke motorcycle engine of 297cc, replacing the original's noisy two-stroke power unit. The coachwork of early examples featured a single side-hinged door at the front, a roll-top sunroof, and sliding side windows for better ventilation, while the steering wheel and dashboard were attached to the door to facilitate entry. The big Isetta 300 was reckoned capable of 65 mph. Approximately 162,000 Isettas had been made by the time production ceased in 1962. 

Delivered to Belgium, this BMW Isetta 300 still carries the plaque of the supplying dealer, 'J. Dumont, Poperinge'. The car is most unusual is never having been restored and remains highly original, retaining matching numbers. The charming little microcar is offered with its original Belgian registration document.