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Production chronology1955–open
Sourced production or model lifecycle range used by the main catalog timeline.
← BMW
BMW / Model record
BMWIsetta
Production1955 – present
Recorded originGermany
Classthree-wheeler
Power13 hp
Built161,728 units
Background
The Isetta is an Italian-designed microcar initially manufactured in 1953 by the Italian firm Iso SpA, and subsequently built under license in a number of different countries, including Argentina, Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The name Isetta is the Italian diminutive form of Iso, meaning "little Iso". Because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, it became known as a bubble car, a name also given to other similar vehicles.
Text adapted from “Isetta” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗ · retrieved 2026-07
Chronology ledger
Dates with their meaning intact
Netherlands RDW first-admission observations1955–1965
First-admission years observed in Dutch vehicle registrations; this is market evidence, not a worldwide production range.
Netherlands RDW ↗11 years
Research notes
Licensed, re-engineered version of the Italian Iso Isetta 'bubble car'. Its strong sales are widely credited with keeping BMW solvent during its late-1950s near-bankruptcy, funding development of the 'Neue Klasse' models.