Isetta

Isetta
Overview
Manufacturer
  • Iso Autoveicoli
  • BMW
  • VELAM
  • Romi
Production
  • Iso Isetta (1953–56)
  • BMW Isetta (1955–62)
  • VELAM Isetta (1955–58)
  • Romi-Isetta (1956–61)
Body and chassis
Body style
  • Cabriolet
  • Van
  • Pick-up
LayoutMR layout

The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar built under license in a number of different countries, including Argentina,[1] Spain,[2] Belgium,[3] France,[4] Brazil,[5] Germany,[6] and the United Kingdom.[7] Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car, a name also given to other similar vehicles.[8]

In 1955, the BMW Isetta became the world's first mass-production car to achieve a fuel consumption of 3 l/100 km (94 mpg‑imp; 78 mpg‑US).[a] It was the top-selling single-cylinder car in the world, with 161,728 units sold.[9] Initially manufactured by the Italian firm Iso SpA, the name Isetta is the Italian diminutive form of Iso, meaning "little Iso".[b]

  1. ^ "De Carlo - Argentina". cocheargentino.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Borgward – Iso España". vehiculosclasicos.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2005.
  3. ^ "The Year's cars". Automobile Year (1953–54 ed.). Lausanne: Edita S.A.: 37 1953. ISSN 0084-7674. OCLC 1230860432.
  4. ^ "Étude technique et pratique Velam Isetta". Revue Technique Automobile (in French) (119). Paris: Régie Automobile Industrie Publicité.: 163 March 1956. ISSN 0017-307X. OCLC 647972462.
  5. ^ "A brief history of Indústrias Romi S.A." Indústrias Romi S.A. 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  6. ^ "BMW Historie – BMW Isetta 250/300 Standard" (PDF) (in German). BMW.com. Retrieved 26 December 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ Watson, David. "Isetta of Great Britain, Ltd. Brighton Works". Isetta Owners Club of Great Britain. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
  8. ^ "65 MPH and 80 MPG-That's the Messerschmitt". Motorcycle Mechanics. London: Mercury House Consumer Publications: 34–35. April 1963. ISSN 0262-5822. OCLC 215410417. This bubble-car has a beetle-like outline
  9. ^ Seehusen, Manfred; Schwietzer, Andy (2004). Isetta: Ein Auto bewegt die Welt [Isetta: A Car Moves the World] (in German). Wallmoden: Bodensteiner Verlag. p. [page needed]. ISBN 978-3-9806631-2-0. OCLC 61429885.


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