You probably only know two things about Isettas:
A. They have three wheels.
B. Park too close to the front end of the garage in one and you'll get trapped behind the wheel, because the single door is at the front and there's no reverse gear.
Well, you're wrong on both counts. Only some of the British-made cars had three wheels. Further, only some had disconnected reverse gears, so that they could evade automobile legislation and taxation by being classed as three-wheeled motorcycles instead.
The rest had a conventional gearbox and four wheels, albeit with a narrow track at the rear.
The Isetta was the brainchild of
Rivolta visualized the need for a cheap and compact town car and introduced the Isetta ("little Iso") in 1953 with a 237-cc, twin-cylinder, two-stroke engine. Sales were good and, within a few years, the design was franchised out to
A contemporary road test from the British magazine Motor showed the Isetta 300's top speed to be 54 mph, with fuel consumption a thrifty 50 to 60 miles per U.S. gallon. The 0-to-40-mph time could be recorded by an egg timer, with a recent report measuring it at one minute flat. An original brochure for the British version promoted the car by stating, "Since its length is no more than average car width, it can be placed nose-on to the kerb, and is therefore the easiest car in the world to park."
The Isetta 300 weighs in at around 770 pounds fully equipped (with heater and defroster). With your kneecaps acting as a safety bumper and your lungs as airbags, it is not exactly a paragon of crashworthiness.
Why did the Isetta die? Blame another small car--though not quite as small--called the Mini. --Dave Kinney for Sports Car Market Magazine
Forbes Fact
A few years ago, 1950s and '60s micro cars doubled and tripled in value--a runup in pricing that made Internet stocks look tame. But, like all bubble markets, the bubble-car bubble burst and rational thinking has largely returned.
Excellent cars sell in the $12,000 to $15,000 range. Unless you are going the do-it-yourself restoration route, don't try to save a few bucks by buying a car with needs. These cars are plagued by rust, and many have been rolled (check for a lumpy roof and an ill-fitting front door). Repairing either can be prohibitively expensive. Like so many cult cars, a good way to find a decent micro car is through the marque club (www.microcar.org). --D.K.