BMW MODEL BUILDER ISO

BMW MODEL BUILDER ISO

With BMW’s business teetering on the edge, and a possible takeover by Bavarian-based rival car maker Glas highly possible (with BMW ironically acquiring and killing off Glas just a decade later), astonishingly the tiny ISO was just the right car at the right time, the Isetta essentially saving the BMW company that so many motorists love and admire today ISO’s little Italian bubble-shaped microcar was more in tune with mid-1950s new car buyer demands than the baroque BMW 501 and handsome but irrelevant sporting BMWs, such as the 503 GT coupe and expensive 507 roadster. Its large, ungainly and thirsty 501 V8 saloon widely missed the mark and failed to attract buyers in a depressed post-war market, and much of BMW’s previous production facilities were now based in the newly Communist-run DDR (East Germany). The Isetta (almost) fulfilled a need in post-war mainland Europe for minimalist and affordable transportation, with Italian domestic white goods maker Renzo Rivolta’s ISO business creating the Isetta, and building it between 1953-58.Īs well as industrialist Rivolta cannily selling the production licence for his inexpensive Isetta bubble car around the world, including Velam in France, De Carlo in Argentina and Romi-Isetta in Brazil, ISO sold its largest manufacturing rights agreement for the model to the cash-starved and ailing BMW in Munich.īMW hadn’t come out of the Second World War in rude health. At one time, the BMW Isetta was the best-selling single-cylinder engined car in the world, with 161,728 examples sold overall, and the model being the first British-built BMW ever made (in Brighton), from 1957 onwards. The BMW I was unfortunate enough to drive last week was the Isetta, more commonly known as the tiny and rotund ‘bubble car’, as built between 19. Admittedly the BMW model in question had thankfully ceased production by the time the ‘Ultimate’ marketing message had kicked in, which is just as well as the company could have well been sued otherwise under the Trades Descriptions Act! This unappealing model was arguably one of the most important in BMW’s car making history though, as without it, the Bavarian motoring monolith we know today might not have survived its near-bankruptcy in the 1950s. The other day, however, I drove a BMW that was so far removed from being the Ultimate Driving Machine, it was laughable. My personal favourite modern-era BMW – the Z1 roadster, with its intriguing drop-down doors – was a tad disappointing to drive though, despite its stylish and original sporting good looks and pretentions. carwow Ltd is registered in England (company number 07103079), registered office 2nd Floor, Verde Building, 10 Bressenden Place, London, England, SW1E 5DH.Over the intervening years since BMW began using the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ message, a number of its models have proven to be exceptionally good to drive, especially the first-generation M3 (E30), various M5s, and the quirky Z3 M Coupe. All finance offers and monthly payments shown are subject to application and status. carwow is covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (please see more information). carwow may receive a fee from retailers advertising finance and may receive a commission from partners (including dealers) for introducing customers. carwow is a credit broker and not a lender. carwow is the trading name of carwow Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for credit broking and insurance distribution activities (firm reference number: 767155). Average savings are calculated daily based on the best dealer prices on carwow vs manufacturer RRP. *Based on 500 respondents between April and May 2022 see .uk/verify.

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