WHERE DID IT COME FROM?

by Tony Marshall (published in the Isetta Gazette September 1980)

Very early on in the history of the Club, I wrote a bit about the development of the Isetta. That was probably a mistake because, looking back, I can see several glaring errors. I am about to prove that I can never learn my lesson, as this page is devoted to telling you one or two details of the various models of Isetta that have been made.

The first Isetta's were made by the firm of Iso Spa in Italy, and the name 'Isetta' is taken from the Italian words meaning, 'Little Iso'. It was surprisingly like the later models in appearance, showing that the basic design must be pretty sound. However, the engine was not the one with which most members are familiar, but was a two stroke made by Iso, and was a 236cc. This little car was the forerunner of all the Isetta's about today. It was even quite successful on the race track, taking class awards in the 1954 Mille Miglia. The Iso Isetta was also assembled in Belgium.

In 1954 BMW started to make the Isetta, using their own four stroke engine in place of the Iso power unit. At about this time Iso sold the rights to produce the 236xx engine in europe to Velam in France, and disposed of everything else to a company in Brazil. This company resumed production of the Romi Isetta, which they continued to make until 1969!

Velam made their own version, but as the body press tools had gone to South Africa, they had to make a body of their own design, which is the reason that the Velam Isetta is so different from all the others.

Up to this time, all the Isetta's were of the 'bubble window' variety, known as the 'standard model' in Germany. In 1957 BMW brought out the more familiar model with sliding side windows, calling it the 'export'. This was about the same time that the optional 300cc engine was introduced. Gradually the older version was dropped, whilst the sliding window production ceased in 1962.

An interesting varient is the Hoffman Auto-kabine, which was made by a company in Germany as a copy of the isetta. In fact it was such an obvious copy that only 113 were made before BMW started court proceedings for infringement of their patents. If there are still any Hoffman's in existance though, I feel sure that they will find room for them in our club.

BMW Isetta's were available in Britain from 1955, but as they were four wheelers there was little demand. I am fortunate in having one of the original demonstrators owned by the concessionaires, AFN Ltd of Isleworth.

Production began in Britain in 1957, at first merely the assembly of parts supplied from Germany. As before, the four wheels prevented a lot of sales, and a three wheel model became available in 1959. During the time that the British Isetta was in production, from 1957 to 1964, an increasing number of British made components were used, including Girling and Lucas parts.

Among the variants that were made were the large wide track four wheel trucks and vans made by Iso. These were really quite big, and the front end of the isetta was just the cab.

Of more normal Isetta appearance were the convertible, pick-up, and van. The convertible had rear window pillars sloping the wrong way, like the bubble window sallon. The rear window was removed and a hood supplied in its place. Thus the Isetta convertible had a hood, and a sun roof too! The van and pick-up were similar, but with platform or box in place of the hood. These were made mainly in Germany, though a very small number were made in Britain, primarily for the Canadian market.

Britain alone built a two pedal control model, which used Smith's Selectroshift transmission. Another British specialty was the disabled driver Isetta. This used the two pedal system, together with a steering and control bar. The outward appearance was that of a normal Isetta, but the seat was made to move back and forth for easy entry. Only a handful of these were made as Ministry of Health approval was not forthcoming.

This covers the majority of the small Isetta. We will have a brief description of the 600 on another occasion.