BMW Isetta Set for Production?
While we normally don’t put much credence to Auto Express scoops, we believe this one may have some legs. For one is matches much of what we’re hearing from our own sources. Here’s an excerpt:
>A new range of city models is being planned by BMW, and they could be called Isetta after the famous bubble car of the Fifties. …it seems the project is being developed into a range of eco-friendly models to sit below MINI.
>An insider revealed the range would be primarily designed for town use, but driver appeal would still be key. As with MINI, it would need a badge with a strong heritage. And while Isetta is the likeliest candidate, BMW has some classic British badges at its disposal – most notably Triumph.
>There has been speculation that BMW’s new range would be hybrids. However, our insider said: “That technology is reserved for larger models, such as our SUVs.”
You can read the entire article below:
[ BMW city car is go ] Auto Express
MF Analysis: Look for the Isetta (yes our money is on the name Isetta over the Triumph) to debut around 2011 with an ultra efficient turbo diesel or petrol engine. Of course for our readers in the US, don’t expect the former option in the foreseeable future.
Hopefully, BMW has all their ducks in row with the Isetta name, if they go for it. I personally preferred the 700 Coupe out of all their microcars, but the Iso based cars were fascinating examples of forced engineering, altho Heinkel’s were actually more advanced, if that’s a legitimate term for bubble cars. I wonder if an electric version would be in the cards, but more than anything else I would hope it’s light – they still have that shaft-drive flat twin technology experience in their two-wheeled world…oh, yeah, they been there, done that. 😉
Circa 1958 either Road & Track or Car & Driver did a road test on an Isetta called “The Egg and We on Land and Sea”.
Its deja vue time again. In the late 50’s the Suez Canal crisis saw BMC develop the smaller economical Mini to rival the BMW and Europe bubble cars.
Now it’s still the same oil producing region forcing us into mini cars again albeit electric types.
This is BMWs answer to the Fiat 500 no doubt.
how about some of those bmw motorcycle engines?
<blockquote>how about some of those bmw motorcycle engines?</blockquote>
better yet how about a hayabusa engine?
That would make for a pretty wicked egg.
The only danger here I see is the fact that other than the Isetta-based cars, and the 700 series, they have never dipped another toe into the shallow waters of the lower end of the car market – The MINI hardly qualifies. Their usual profit margins and the financing angles of this segment are turned upside down, and there a many cautionary tales of previous failures by other makers coming into it cold, and even the successful stay alive by a very narrow margin, and only as part of larger entities. Loss leader, maybe? Bad business plan in the short run, and if so, better have the stones to gut it out for the long run, thru thick or thin. Failure is not an option for BMW if they take this route – there’s an unrelated possibility that window-jumping will enjoy a renaissance in the near future, worldwide, and the money for anything other than a dead cert will dry up, leaving marginal efforts just that forever. No toe-dipping, now, just jump in with both feet, or not at all – and then there’s no going back, so it better be a world-beater that plays well in Beijing and Nebraska.
Doesn’t this seem more likely to be a “Smart” competitor rather than a Fiat 500 competitor? Fiat clearly set their sights on MINI when they started planning out the new 500 – particularly noticeable with their Abarth kit. Why would BMW put another small, super-premium vehicle on the market when they already have 2? (MINI, 1-Series).
It seems more likely to me that they are interested in testing the waters that Mercedes has with the introduction of a street legal golf cart a’ la Smart.
I would rather see the BMW C1 put back into production and brought to the states… but that’s just me.
they should be able to kick out a US CARB compliant TDI diesel by ’11. VW is doing it later this yr, honda/acura next yr. NOx engine mgmt & the urea cat’s are getting better & better.
and i would think they could make it as fun to drive as a gas engine–not sure, though.
This is going to be the Smart competition that some people think MINI is. Over the last few weeks of thinking about what Kay Segler said at Detroit this makes HUGE sense. Using the name doesn’t mean that this car, if it comes to fruition, would be just like the original Isetta. I think the car will only use the name but have a modern, efficient, and unique design. If they set up their own versions of Smart “Centers” this would really ignite the world of efficient cars on the roads of the U.S. A step in the right direction. BMW has the means much more than Daimler. I’m sure they will use engines co developed with another manufacturer to reduce costs but still be able to put their engineering into it and have their name on it. The Prince family of engines is a great example of this.
World Car Fans is now reporting that BMW is considering going electric for this model…any word on that from inside?
The MINI and 1 series are not SMALL cars. Perhaps in USA they are considered the smallest but in the rest of the world there are cars made by European and Japanese manufacturers that are much smaller. Its just that you folks in USA never get to see them unless you are a tourist.
MINI has already been “upsized” with the R56.
>World Car Fans is now reporting that BMW is considering going electric for this model…any word on that from inside?
Since that’s more BMW related, you can read a bit more about that <a href="http://www.bimmerfile.com/2008/02/02/is-bmws-forth-brand-going-to-be-green/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.
Gabe. Is that Bimmerfile place you linked to Motoringfile’s evil twin or something? It looks just like this site but is all BMW stuff. Do you run this as well??? Oh man do I feel in the dark.
I think Gabe is in the process of launching a sister site to MF, but more in line with Bimmer related stuff. It makes sense since Gabe will, at some point, make the jump to a 1-series…
Look at teh fine print at the bottom of bimmerfile under the comments section.
It says exactly what you see below this comments section
“MotoringFile reserves the right to edit or delete any post etc”
A multi-faceted man, is our Gabe.
I confess I’d be tempted to bail on my MINI if something very efficient comes our way. Two things though…first, it’d have to get over 50 mpg since I can already manage to consistently get 40 mpg around town in my Cooper. Second, it’d have to be a excellent car overall. This is where MINI shines, and I’d hope the lesson eventually reaches automakers (although I’m not holding by breath). It’s important that a car’s handling and feedback be dialed in to engage the driver and this simple fact seems lost on most cars…even the small ones where physics could be in their favor. If they can do this and deliver attention-getting efficiency then something truly great will happen.
I don’t know if the Isetta is attempting to create a sub-MINI, but it seems suspicious that this article is coming out right when the buzz is picking up for the US debut of Smart. If anything, BMW will compete with Mercedes in all categories, including the ulta-compact market, and therefore feel the need to go head to head, Isetta VS. Smart