Bubble trouble - Problems with the BMW Isetta | Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson takes the BMW Isetta for a spin - only to get caught out by it's unusual design. A great outtake from series 15 of Top Gear.
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[@Luminariouso]

Legend says that Jeremy has been waiting on that small garage ever after.

[@SturmWurm]

Some say that Jeremy had to eat the seats of the car to survive. Some say that the only form of entertainment jeremy had was to hit the throttle. Some say that jeremy even considered smashing the glass to the front window and use his feet to escape. But he never did due the fact his brain wasnt working from eating the leather seat.

[@kolonmelon8173]

still, could be worse

[@swanner95]

....CLARKSONNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

[@GermanPerfectionist]

Does that mean he's not coming on then?

[@John_Doe....]

ANYWAY!!!.....

[@twoheartriver]

As many know, only the UK version of the BMW Isetta had three wheels and no reverse, because of some daff UK government rules and regulations. As designed originally in Italy, it had four wheels and reverse. If you were stuck, or crashed in to a Fiat 500 or something, you were supposed to open the canvas roof and crawl out that way. I would have liked to have seen Jeremy trying to do that.

[@hybridAbsol]

Kirt Murray iseta crashing into a fiat 500 ? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@OffGridInvestor]

And the reason for the fabric rooves on small Italian cars was to save on steel. Btw those UK laws AREN'T DAFT, they're an attempt to get this vehicle classified as a motorbike as the robin reliant was. Easier license, lower taxes and registration costs.

[@thedeadstig123]

All isetta 300s had reverse gear on its gearbox.....

[@Radfordperson]

@@thedeadstig123 +1 All three of mine did. and would easily top 60 MPH

[@slippydouglas]

Interestingly, a 4-wheel version was originally released in the UK, but was a market failure. Only once a 3-wheel/motorcycle-license version was released did they sell well in the UK. (Source: Wikipedia)

[@itmosepodcast493]

0:38 Did anyone else realise this is the same garage area where Jeremy rolled the reliant robin for the first time? You can even see the yellow fiat 500 in the background which was in the reliant robin episode. Just curious.

[@louisgreenleaf235]

This is from the same episode

[@rhyswelding3657]

They must have originally intended that film to be about multiple three wheel cars but the robin was the only one to actually feature on the show. This clip didn't make it but the joke about being stuck in the garage did.

[@alfyryan6949]

@@rhyswelding3657 I didn't know this one never made it into an episode

[@KandiKlover]

Yeah it's where they store the cars.

[@ipewdiepiel6199]

Now I do

[@YALE70]

Hey well at least it's still safer than driving a Reliant Robin!

[@ISETTA700]

THEY PUT A STEEL PLATE IN THE ROOF OF THE RELIANT TO MAKE IT TOP HEAVY & TIPSY . JUST SOME FILM TRICKERY .

[@pcpedroariel]

+David Brower Nope Reliant Robin is shit

[@DonAmnesia]

Pedro C They actually did put a steel plate in the top.

[@alexsandrorutkoski6548]

they also welded the differential

[@Zak-ob5ze]

The Robin is amazing

[@hazza123live]

i bet the camera crew left him in there for a while i definitely would hahah

[@Zacho789]

He can get out, there's enough room for either door (more on the left) for him to squeeze past. This was two years ago so I think that's possible.

[@Zacho789]

betatalk357 Oh I forgot, sorry :P. But I do agree if he did that, the car's lack of weight could prove to be useful. Or perhaps (because the door could open a little way) he could squeeze past that gap and widen it as it goes along.

[@Alan-reee]

Anon probably didn’t even watch the video before putting that first comment

[@AiGenius-tr5bv]

But scratch the door to shit​@@Zacho789

[@teenonator]

In the 70's, I commuted by ferry, and an Isetta driver consistently parked blocking a sidewalk. We'd had a few bevvies on our way home, & 4 of us picked the Isetta up, and placed it with its front up against a nearby telephone pole

[@LuKc1206]

0:38 Isn't that the same place where he rolled the Reliant Robin?

[@miaugato93]

Lucap1000 it's an outtake from that same film. this was supposed to be the intro.

[@Hevyupgrade]

Some say that Jeremy is still there... and that the person we assumed to be Clarkson for all these years was actually, the Stig.

[@abramo7700]

The canvas roof wouldn’t work because Jeremy can’t climb, and the camera crew just forgot about him

[@isakberglund9249]

Now that's, what i call a twist!

[@BrightSpark]

Nah, that's just why there is a farm that breeds Clarksons on Clarkson Island.

[@sigma_frenchie4075]

0:11 that little rx-8 tho

[@bestofbothworlds374]

Lol you see it right after, but Jeremy’s going uphill

[@quas392]

0:00 :D its the theme to Terry Gilliam's Brazil! (main character of that film drove a messerschmit)

[@Mikey-xz4vn]

Good catch!

[@ReaperMinecraft909]

Thank you so much

[@TheGolfdaily]

"If you had a car like this, you wouldn't have a wife or a girl friend".... Another great quote from Jeremy'

[@breastmilkgaming]

8 years ago, hope you're doing well

[@TheGolfdaily]

@@breastmilkgaming I am still here, thanks for asking. I hope you are doing well too! 😊

[@finnbar87]

Mine just told, that she would leave me, if I bought one of those.

[@clarissamcpigeon7857]

Except you probably would have had a wife or girlfriend because in those days everyone did, whether they liked it or not.

[@artinyyk]

I confused by the aquarela do Brasil at the beginning till I rewatched Brazil the other day. I completely forgot about the 3 wheeler messerchmitt Lowry drove about in.

[@PauliesWalnuts]

Some say that he's still stuck in that BMW at that very same place, and that he was replaced with a fake Jeremy Clarkson...

[@ISETTA700]

SO IT WAS THE FAKE JEREMY PUNCHED HIS BOSS IN THE MOUTH !

[@KandiKlover]

All we know is, he's the Stig!

[@craigrayner3349]

Pretty sure that's an isseta and not bmw?

[@adamwallis1563]

Craig Rather it’s a BMW Isseta, so it is a BMW

[@katmaur6949]

but couldn't he push as much pressure on the door (push it) to get out?

[@manofweed1]

They realised even back then in the 50's - 60's that road space and parking was at a premium. Now they make ridiculous tank like monstrosities, even regular cars are getting bigger and bigger.

[@antoinesilva1527]

I agree. I know we want spacious cars but modern designers (both for roads and automobiles) have lost the plot.

[@Chino56751]

Britain and 3 wheeled cars...

[@SnipinCatz]

+Agent Washington What? It's a BMW.

[@samr1321]

+SnipinCatz It's not BMW. It is an italian car called Isetta. The BMW badge on it is there for no clear reason!

[@SnipinCatz]

Sam Rad en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta#BMW_Isetta_.28Germany.29 This is the BMW model, it's different. The badge isn't there for "no clear reason".

[@samr1321]

SnipinCatz Still, it is an Italian car with BMW badge on it.

[@SnipinCatz]

Sam Rad No, it's not. There's are a lot more differences than the badge, read the article. "BMW made the Isetta its own. They redesigned the powerplant around a BMW one-cylinder, four-stroke, 247 cc motorcycle engine which generated 10 kW (13 hp). Although the major elements of the Italian design remained intact, BMW re-engineered much of the car, so much so that none of the parts between a BMW Isetta Moto Coupe and an Iso Isetta are interchangeable. The first BMW Isetta appeared in April 1955." In other words, the only Italian thing about it was the design. Manufactured at BMW's facilities in Germany and drastically re-engineered. If you think any car, so long as it's designed by an Italian, is Italian then we've got a much longer list of cars to talk about here.

[@davidjulian8536]

My mum had one of these years ago, it didn't have reverse gear, but you could start the engine backwards (its a 2-stroke) and all the forward gears were available going backwards.

[@nekomi_ch]

how do you start backwards

[@whitefields5595]

There were 4 forward gears and a reverse. I know I owned two of these and swapped the bodies over. UK registered RH drive reg 995 COL. You had to look after the bushes in the gear change rod linkages. I rose-jointed mine and it was fine. Better than the change on a Lotus Europa or Austin Maxi. Clarkson wrong again ... I was the only kid at school with a car at 17. I remember them laughing, from the comfort of the bus stop in the rain! 55 mph was possible if you waited long enough. Apart from the lack of crash protection, the only real worry was the single wheel at the rear 'tracking' if there was a ridge the the centre of the road. You had to have cross-ply tyre on the rear too, put a radial tyre on and the thing used to weave at 40 mph! The exhaust valve broke, it was one of the early examples of two-piece exhaust valves. Wrecked the head and piston ... good job I had a spare engine. Used to go camping with the girlfriend and the dog in it. Great fun.

[@epoh3334]

Great stuff

[@sannyfolkesson2226]

i take this was the introduction for the reliant robin, as he enters the same area as he exists with that car, and you can also see same yellow fiat 500 in the parking in that vid.

[@Raviis]

wow thats awesome, just watched both lol xD so right

[@socksumi]

You folks in England got the three wheel version (three wheels required a much cheaper motorcycle licence) whereas in America and Canada Isettas had four wheels, but the back two were set close together.

[@W1NG3DNZ]

There was also a British 4-wheel version with reverse gear, I had the pleasure of sitting in one a few weeks ago on a car rally here in New Zealand. :)

[@hangu4101]

It has sun roof..

[@Erik_Blomgren]

Some say that Jeremy is still left alone in that car, others say that he escaped and is roaming the streets right now... All we know is that Top Gear will never be the same without him... RIP old Top Gear, we will miss you.

[@kapquarfa]

we need more of these type of videos!

[@danielalexander8588]

Nice to hear 'Brazil' at the start of this.

[@sadmanh0]

can't u just push the door against the wall so car moves backwards? O.o not like its heavy or anything...

[@METALLICA3698]

You might scratch it so maybe that's why.

[@sadmanh0]

its a bubble car, owner doesn't care how it looks

[@sadmanh0]

Forte Maurizio how does this answer my Q of why Clarckson couldn't push the car back with the door?

[@gangnamstyle5270]

***** Well his answer was pretty clear,its italian,you can't do stuff like that to italian cars.

[@sadmanh0]

Siddharth Udayakumar ohhhh...

[@commenter8640]

Luckily for Jeremy, everyone on the British Isles absolutely adores him so they’ll be plenty of people around who would want to help him. He’s a lovely man, he really is.

[@NasinaLove]

That was the most hilarious thing i have ever seen on Top Gear :D

[@dagatti1200]

Love the Aquarela do Brasil soundtrack

[@albaproductions9602]

I was looking at one of those a couple of months ago, I was surprised they were made by B.M.W.

[@johnbondza]

A very distorted and unfair road test. 1. It had a VERY good 4 speed box. I have that gearbox on my bike. 2. Any car with a 300cc 22 hp engine will only do 40kph. Very economical though 3. If the door was blocked, the soft top was an emergency access. It is comparitively easy to get out through. 4.. The C of G was low and quite far back. To get it onto it's windscreen, you had to bake hard and hit a curb at the same time. 5. It was sold as an inexpensive, functional means of transport. To expect more is stupid!

[@nikilauda1847]

4 wheel Isettas have the gearbox with reverse gear, so no problem to park etc. In 1950-ties, where having a motorcycle was an achievement, having an Isetta, where the rain could not fall onto your head, was GREAT! Only privileged ones had the chance to drive it, lol! Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember these days!

[@waterwomyn]

My uncle had one of these, which he used to commute on the Los Angeles freeways...madness!

[@danw9403]

Interesting that this is almost exactly what he said in the studio in the actual episode. He even had a fake garage and made James get stuck in the car.

[@haylobos8261]

In the 1950s nobody had a car. Only in America. Europe was only beginning to buy automobiles. That is why they built tiny cars. You would still be okay driving that.

[@ryuman757]

Outtakes? I thought I remember seeing him say that in the episode? o_O

[@TheBranddawg]

Thank you sir i was wondering what the black square on the roof was for

[@Oslokiddo]

top gear uk is the best program so far. eveything is perfect. the music. the stuff they do. EVERYTHING!

[@themagicboy6548]

and that is why each and every isetta has a sunroof

[@wolfherzogvolpe785]

And so, Jeremy was never seen again.

[@sumairb9978]

Anyway...

[@mattmanning9267]

That's strange! I saw one of these reverse out of garage the other week.

[@javaupdtae]

Lol can't wait foe the full episode!!

[@MsBenlane]

I love bubblecars and would be happy to ride on a date with one

[@robinhyperlord9053]

@EaqIe How?

[@MattAutoMotive]

Have you heard Clarkson's words at 1:18 I'm sure he says "and partly because if you would have a car like this you wouldn't have a wife or a girlfriend"

[@khalidhassan2909]

how can it not have reverse gear

[@valdeizm]

it just doesn't. it's magic.

[@ISETTA700]

IT DOES . JEREMY SAID IT DOESN'T SO HE COULD MAKE FUN OF THE CAR .

[@13thFlProductions]

Actually, only the British version doesn't have a reverse gear. All other versions have 4 wheels and a reverse gear

[@tazclark5237]

iBallasticwolf2 incorrect, my Grandfather has one and has reverse gear and 3 wheels

[@Alpostpone]

So it could be legally a motorcycle. The four-wheel with reverse was legally a car.

[@cometovlad]

Finally a Top Gear video!

[@Coach_Vedo]

i've restored 4-wheels Isetta, 1968 and i,ve sold her to Coca-Cola company before 12 yrs ago. I worked on her for almost 3 yrs. Even today, Coca-Cola use her for promos in our town.

[@bencns]

Is stuck in isetta... Open the sun roof. Also the four wheel isettas had reberse

[@bencns]

Reverse

[@bicyclist2]

reberse?

[@equim7363]

Rebirth

[@catfish552]

He just doesn't learn, does he? Gets himself into just the same silly situation as with the Peel P50 and the elevator...

[@Robbieifyoucan]

He was doing this to make a point, obviously...

[@Nanorisk]

Clowns always fall on their faces at the same spot in the same show, for a reason.

[@sageemma]

The Isetta is a fabulous car, JC. Even a junker goes for upwards of E40K right now.

[@BayuBaron]

uses the exact line about the 'no phone in 50s' and 'no gf or wife' used in reliant robin segment few years later which took place in the same area seen here

[@Jack.Strait]

and that's where he's been stuck to this day.

[@georgejacob3162]

Some say that there are some BMW Isetta drivers that are still stuck where they ended up today. All we know is they are not The Stig!

[@georgeyboylawrence4962]

I'd love to test-drive one of these one day!....

[@pranshusodhani2883]

Oh man.i really liking the top geea season and it's interesting video .Really Thanks to too gear team for such an interesting dig at the history of cars ❤️❤️👍🙏. Really thankyou.I hope everybody is with their family and safe at home❤️❤️👍🙏🏡

[@MrTurboist]

The Isetta has a reverse gear ! BTW

[@rubenick]

USA model, yes.. European model, nope...

[@hobbes9921]

Rubenick All Isettas (Standart plus Export) hat 4 Speed plus Reverse. Maybe the special three wheeled UK model hasn't got the reverse.

[@funnintube]

Ive got a 62 Isetta and it definitely has reverse.

[@sanjaygupta6149]

Rubenick European model has reverse too. Just not the UK exports. Plus they where 3-wheelers

[@ISETTA700]

THEY ALL HAD A REVERSE . ALL OF THEM . BRITISH BUILT ISETTAS USE THE SAME MOTOR & TRANSMISSION AS THE GERMAN BMW BUILT VERSION . THE ITALIAN ISO HAD REVERSE . THAT MOTOR & TRANSMISSION WAS USED IN THE FRENCH VELAM , SPANISH ISO ESPANIA & BRAZILIAN ROMI ISETTAS .

[@alienspaceshaman]

Braaaaaaziiiillllll!!!!!!

[@motanelustelistu]

Cheers.Tanks =D

[@FreiherrvonWeilberg]

My grandparents drove this from Cologne to the alps with a baby and a tent in it to go on vacation! worked brilliantly!

[@makaimesa3893]

0:06 To put that into perspective: Racing dirt bikes get up to 450cc. Dirt BIKES.

[@mk2nathan]

I know someone with an old KTM 550. That's almost 2x as big.

[@badlydrawncars6460]

Triumph makes a 2500cc bike

[@gieduckqaz]

oh god this was hilarious lol

[@willtvvids]

well can you tell me a site i could find them then, because that will be great

[@yassminmouin]

When you put the roof down, you can get your groceries and put them directly into the isetta as you walk down the isles

[@Coolman1695]

out the window

[@DangerAngelous]

Forever alone, XD

[@iGalactiico]

I simply love this show

[@TheLASingleGuy]

I have not seen one of these cars in years but I know there are still a few of them on the road here in the US. A microcar like this would never be imported into the US today but they are collectors' items now.

[@strider029]

Man im pretty sure i can have a girlfriend with that car.

[@greengenie7063]

My brother had the four-wheel version, and his girlfriend married him. It's so rare it would be worth £40k now! It was a really loveable, great little simple vehicle. Today's designers could learn a lot from this throbbing, semi-airborne little tyke! Just extend the wheelbase a little, fit a sliding door (or two), an electric motor, the minimum electronics and a suitcase battery - and beep beep, ratty...

[@MetalTrabant]

@@greengenie7063 The Swiss are planning an electric remake of the Isetta already, called Microlino. It looks good on pictures.

[@MetalTrabant]

Most girls love cute small cars, they definitely would be more excited by this thing than your standard 'black BMW SUV' that some guys use nowadays to show off...

[@bux49]

Having owned a Isetta 300 (USA Model) I believe most of this gentlemen's statements are wrong. If I remember correctly I paid $75 for mine in running condition. The fellow I purchased the car from had died in a house fire his father sold it to me. Mine had 4 wheels not 3. It did only have 3 brakes which in a panic stop made it pitch sideways. I did manage to achieve 65 mph in mine and get all four wheels off the ground. Scary. It had a 4 speed reverse shift pattern and a reverse gear.

[@Owiko7]

yea. Thats the usa model. Not the Europe model

[@ISETTA700]

BRITISH BUILT CARS HAD THE SAME BMW MOTOR & TRANSMISSION THIS IS TRUE WITH 3 AND 4 WHEEL VERSIONS . THEY ALL HAD A REVERSE GEAR .

[@Harv72b]

SOME of the UK Isettas had the reverse gear "deleted", for the same reason they made the 3-wheeled version in the first place: so they could be legally classed as motorcycles.

[@flynnparish9833]

but is it true that you can decide how fast the car will be going by what you have eaten in your breakfast?

[@MrRonnieG]

At a 1964 car show, in Los Angeles, I saw a highly modified Isetta that was identical to this one except for the fact it had a 1,710 cubic inch V-12 Allison aircraft engine for power which took up 85% of the room. A seat was placed at the far back with just enough room for a driver. It was fully functional and was called, "Al Setta" The builder also had a 4-wheel drive dragster on display with 4 of the same 1,710 cube, V-12 Allisons and it was called, "Quad Al" It too was 100% functional.

[@TheMuppitiers]

There will be more top gear series in september?

[@smartguy62]

This is the 1000 comment ! Wow

[@12799MaDeuce]

now I really want to get one and try to make it do a somersault hahaha

[@MrJetformula1]

Amazing, just amazing.

[@robertcollins7025]

My mother drove one in 1959 in Florida USA. It had reverse. However if you put the wheels against a parking stop you couldn't engage the gearbox period. Mom hated it. Her next driver was a 58 Chevrolet Wagon.

[@CrimsonRGU]

i like the brasil film reference in the beginning awesome movie

[@johanbrand8601]

I love them to bits

[@damirko06]

...some say, The Stig has an Isetta in each of his pockets...and that he drove the Nordschleife in under 7 minutes with one of them....

[@karolkozik5918]

anybody knew what song is that from beginning? i like songs like this

[@datboi1026]

*legend has it he’s still stuck in the garage to this day.*

[@socksumi]

This three wheel version is a very early one. Most had two wheels in the back set close together.

[@leonardomendieta8160]

Being driven in one when I was a kid. Unforgettable.

[@maverick79606]

isnt that the same place he started off wit hthe reliant robin @ 0:42 lol

[@l1nus0nl1neproductions9]

I’ve always wanted to drive small cars like this (the peel p50 as well) cuz they seem so mutch fun and my poor vison Will never allow me to get a drivers licensen...so i would just drive them around the countryside

[@l1nus0nl1neproductions9]

I’ve always wanted to drive small cars like this (the peel p50 as well) cuz they seem so mutch fun and my poor vison Will never allow me to get a drivers licensen...so i would just drive them around on the countryside

[@Dude40001]

I'm quite sure that's the same car park they used for the reliant robin death-test...

[@VaporOne1]

@EliteGuard01 nope, the dialogue was the exact same but they actually reshot the scene so it was different in the final cut.

[@moustafaabdel-wahab4299]

This is a three wheeler castrated version, a regular 250cc Isetta reaches easily 50 mph, the handbrake is weak, you do not park it against the wall, and the tester in this case is very partial .

[@Psiberzerker]

I love how they played the theme from Brazil. I assume because Sam Lowry drove a similar tiny Messerschmidt.

[@mirkograveho1388]

I am literally dying! folded in half with my jaw about to lock into a strange position

[@wolfsatyr]

Only the ones in Great Britain were sold without a reverse gear, so you could drive them with a motorcycle license. I think the German model even had four wheels instead of three, though with the rear track much narrower than the front.

[@davecooper3238]

My late brother & some of his mates had a soft spot for theses. My brother plus two of his friends all ended up running into rear of another vehicle. They used the roof as escape hatches. My brother sold the remains of his after rolling it down a hill.

[@GriffinU]

Isn't there an escape hatch at the top of the car? I remember seeing a similar car in the first season of Storage Wars!

[@frunchzz]

Oh yeah, Top Gear is back!

[@g13flat]

Isn't this where they did the Reliant Robin piece as well?

[@boscochou9710]

And that's the soundtrack of Brazil (1985), how wanderful!

[@Mzrati]

Smashing!

[@Co0kieNo0dle]

Anyone wondering what the background music is at the beginning. Here it is: Brazil - Geoff Muldaur

[@trydam]

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

[@littlebuch]

so when is this going to air? like is it from season 19 or something? o_O

[@tanhockjun]

where can i find the full video of this car at top gear?

[@rogerjenkinson7979]

Hi. I know I'm very late to the party but I would like to say how practical these cars are. When they were new my dad drove us to Ainsdale beach for a day. It's miles of sand on which thousands of cars can park. There are designated "roads" along it but off these you may park anywhere just avoid the patches of soft sand where your car would sink to its floor pan and you would have to be towed out by tractor. We were heading for one such but waved off by people already parked. Managed to squeeze in and had9 just got out of our Ford when a BMW/IIsetta shot in and sank. We were shocked then amused then worried about how to help him out. The 2 occupants nonchalantly got out, lifted it up and carried it to firm ground. We applauded.

[@blackksabbath]

Why can’t I get this version of brazil (the song) anywhere. I need the whistle one for a project