BMW, 1957, Isetta 300

BMW Isetta 300, 1957

The Isetta was introduced in 1953 by Iso Automotoveicoli Spa, a company founded in 1939 with the name Isothermos for the production of heaters and refrigerators. After the war, Iso started manufacturing motorcycles and scooters and later, in the ‘60s, fast GT cars powered by big American V8 engines.
In Italy, the production of Isetta stopped in 1955, but the car kept being produced under licence by BMW, which sold it throughout Europe.
The car on show is a German-built Isetta, also called motocoupé for its compact size. It had this odd egg-shaped body that resembled an helicopter and sufficient room for two people inside.
The single front door was rather unusual, and the steering wheel and column were fixed to it.
The Isetta in its Italian version became famous for the participation in the 1954 and 1955 Mille Miglia, winning in the special ranking related to performance in 1954.