The post-war period is naturally not a period of great wealth. Most people were very happy if they were able to buy a
motorized two-wheeler. If this two-wheeler happened to have a roof against the rain, they were
especially lucky. Such a cladded motorcycle is introduced to the market by BMW in 1955. It arises as a manufacture
under license of the Milan company Iso, from which not only the plans but the tools are taken over, too. Hence the name.
The 'Isetta' has a door in front, to which the movable steering column is fastened together with the steering wheel. The
fabric roof also serves as an emergency exit. Like today's Smart there are just two front seats, if necessary they might be
occupied by three very slender persons. For better marketing the designations 'Motocoupé' and 'Export' were used.
The two rear wheels are driven via a closed chain case. There is so less wheel track that a differential is not necessary. Some export
versions have only one wheel because of the favorable taxation as tricycles. The Isetta is driven by a BMW motorcycle engine with fan cooling, generator/starter and reverse gear.
The rear single-cylinder engine has aircooled 9 kW
(12 hp, 245 cm³), later 9.5 kW (13 hp, 298 cm³) and a maximum speed of 80 km/h. The car is built up to 1962 and costs in the beginning 2580 DM (standard Beetle 3950 DM). Strangely enough, in Italy,
where the design was created, the Isetta has little success. 06\16
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