"The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar built under licence in a number of different countries including Germany and the United Kingdom. Produced in the post war years, at a time when cheap, short distance transportation was most needed, it became one of the most successful and influential city cars ever created. Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a ‘bubble car’; a name then later given to other similar vehicles. The Isetta was, in 1955, the world's first mass-produced car and was the top-selling single-cylinder car in the world with a total of 161,728 units sold. BMW made the Isetta its own, redesigning most of the car so much so that none of the parts between a BMW Isetta Moto Coupé and an Iso Isetta could be interchangeable. While it retained the ‘Bubble Window’ styling, the BMW version differed from the Italian model in that the headlamps were fixed separately to the sides of the bodywork and it carried the BMW badge below the windscreen.
This example was built in Brighton under licence from BMW and was originally registered in the UK in September 1959. It is a little known fact that the left hand drive examples were actually marginally faster than their right hand drive counterparts, due to a 27kg counterweight added to right hand drive cars, to keep them balanced. Our vendor purchased this example from an enthusiast owner in May 2021, after always promising himself he would own one. The vendor is well versed in classic car restoration and in 2022, decided to refresh the paint and change it from its previous all yellow bodywork to the two tone Old English White with yellow colour scheme you see today. The work he carried out was completed to a very high standard and the car presents in excellent condition throughout. The grey with tartan interior also presents well. It’s hard not to like an Isetta and this one is offered to auction with a very attractive estimate and can be enjoyed right away. The car is supplied with an extensive history file and a V5C registration document. Consignor Fraser Smith"