1959 BMW Isetta 300 Is A Three-Wheel Wonder

Out of all the vehicles BMW has produced over the years, the Isetta is one of the most unique. The model was originally designed by Italian automaker Iso, who licensed the design to BMW so they could begin producing their version of it. This 1959 BMW Isetta 300 is a garage-kept example with a very amusing exterior paint scheme.

View in gallery

Vintage Car Collector offers this Isetta for sale in Gainesville, Georgia. The seller notes that it is a very solid and complete example that will make an extremely good project.

As mentioned earlier, the exterior has a very amusing theme – it pays tribute to a Plymouth gasser from the era. There’s a black and yellow stripe down the right side of the vehicle, while the Plymouth name is on the side of the microcar and a “426ci Hemi” is on the front.

This exterior paint theme is incredibly satirical, considering the Isetta features a 298cc 1-cylinder 4-stroke engine, which made 13-horsepower and 13.6 lb.-ft. of torque, which paired to a 4-speed manual transmission to drive the rear wheels. While this Isetta does not currently run, but the engine turns freely, which is a very good sign.

View in gallery

View 10+

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View 10+

The interior has a white and maroon theme, and while it’s very unsophisticated, it is tidy. The odometer on this Isetta reads 7,967 miles, but the seller mentions that the true mileage of this BMW is 107,967 miles.

BMW produced over 161,000 Isetta models during its production run from 1955 to 1962, which made it the best-selling single-cylinder vehicle in the world at the time. It had a 53 mile-per-hour top speed, as well as an impressive fuel efficiency rating of 79 miles per gallon, making it the first mass-production vehicle to achieve such an efficient mpg rating. These models are significant, and worthy of consideration for any collection.