1958 BMW Isetta 600 Limousine

Powered by a 582cc flat twin-cylinder engine and a 4-speed manual transmission, a side door offers access to the back seat while the Isetta’s traditional opening front end allows the driver and front passenger very simple ingress-egress. Therein are the main differences between a regular Isetta and a limousine: two doors and a backseat. To accommodate the extra door and backseat, the wheelbase was stretched and an independent suspension system with a conventional rear axle was also engineered into the package.

The limousine also utilized a larger engine to better shuttle the heavier, larger vehicle around. Only in production for two years, about 34,000 were made. The Isetta concept was a brilliant one indeed.

Like all of Europe after World War II, Italy was itching to get back on its feet and not just restore its economy, but grow it to new levels. A number of innovative ideas came from this time period, including the Isetta. Iso SpA produced three-wheeled trucks, motor scooters and refrigerators, and its owner, Renzo Rivolta, added to the lineup with a microcar for the masses.

Affordability was the key, and not just the purchase price, but the maintenance thereafter. Introduced to the press in November of 1953, the Isetta was an absolutely earth-shattering car. Its overall shape and design were truly spacy, but it also achieved various notations for stunning efficiency and was one of the least expensive cars on the planet.

Under licensing agreements, Iso allowed various manufacturers around the world to produce their own version of an Isetta, including BMW, which vastly reengineered the car to accommodate numerous BMW parts, including their own single-cylinder, 4-stroke motorcycle engine. With multiple models available, nearly 162,000 were built between 1955 and 1962, easily outpacing all the other licensees.