Another Grandpa car: ’61 BMW Isetta
The Isetta really has a great story. It was born the brainchild of Renzo Rivolta of Iso refrigerator fame. He thought a nice, small microcar would be a big seller. His engineers designed the little bubblecar with a front-hinged door and it was introduced in 1953 as the Iso Isetta. It was propelled by a small 9.5 hp motorcycle engine and had chain-drive through a 4-speed transmission. Rivolta had a passion for fast cars and decided he wanted to build one. Now, with his focus on building the Iso Rivolta, he sought out companies to license building versions of the Isetta. BMW stepped in because they needed a volume car that had motor vehicle tax-benefits. They didn’t license the Isetta, they bought the tooling for it. Iso continued to license to other countries. Today’s BMW Isetta hails from Tacoma, Washington. The seller states his Grandfather used to drive it around town running errands. Grandfather died a few years ago and the Isetta hasn’t been driven since (another dead guy car). It looks to be in pretty decent shape and shouldn’t be too hard to get running again. The seller is asking $15,000 for it. The Sports Car Market Price Guide numbers ($25,000 to $50,000) would make that price a bargain. Contact the seller by clicking here.