BMW Isetta 300 “Cabriolet”
Of 8500 Isetta's imported into the U.S., 366 reported in current registry and 19 are Cabriolets.
With the Second World War having ended just a few years prior in 1945. Italy and much of the rest of Europe was in the grip of crippling economic austerity, and materials like steel, rubber, glass, and gasoline were hard to come by.This meant that the ideal car would made using as little steel, rubber, and glass as feasible, and that it would consume as little gasoline as possible. These shortages led to the rise of the bubble car, also known as the micro car.The design of the Iso Isetta used a simple steel chassis with a stamped steel body, a 236cc 9.5 hp two-stroke engine, a 4-speed transmission, and it offered seating for two with a small amount of groceries or cargo. For those who needed a car to get to work in urban environments like towns and cities the Isetta made a lot of sense.The top speed was understandably mild-mannered, just 47 mph or 75 km/h and that was perhaps a little ambitious. It took the Iso Isetta 30 seconds to reach 31 mph (50 km/h), but on the plus side the car offered fuel economy of 42 mpg‑US or 5.6 L/100 kms.The concept proved popular in Italy and it attracted attention from around the world. Before long the little Isetta was being produced en masse in factories in France, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and in Germany where it was produced by BMW. The Germans truly made the Italian Isetta their own. When BMW bought the tooling and rights for the car in 1955 they largely reengineered it and as a result very few parts are interchangeable between the Italian and German Isettas.BMW offered two main versions of the Isetta, the 250 and the 300. As is common practice with BMW the model number designations tell you the engine size, in this case in centiliters.The BMW Isetta 300 was faster and more powerful than its Italian forebear, offering 13 bhp and a top speed of 53 mph (85 km/h). The engine was also a more advanced four-stroke design that offered better fuel economy of up to 78 mpg‑US or 3 L/100 kms.One of the rarer sub-types of the BMW Isetta is the “cabriolet” version though it wasn’t a true convertible, perhaps more of a targa. The fabric sunroof could also be opened of course, this was also a safety feature in case the front opening door was jammed. In the cabriolet models the rear window was replaced with a fold down fabric cover, allowing good airflow through the cabin and helping to solve the heat problems that drivers could encounter on hot sunny days due to the open greenhouse design of the cabin.
