Why this tiny microcar is SO MUCH FUN! 1959 BMW Isetta 300

[@RayPerkins01]

A few years back, l drove my 1965 Triumph TR4 from Cambridge to Italy to raise money for Parkinson’s UK. Feeling very intrepid, high in the Alps, on a steep uphill section, we rounded a bend and found ourselves behind one of these. Inside were two elderly Germans and strapped to the roof were two sizable suitcases. In Hannibal’s footsteps, The vehicle was manfully traversing Europes greatest mountain range at a steady 15mph. Respect!

[@SloopyDog]

Bring back the Bubble Car.

[@ianhamilton-xr4fm]

❤

[@randymack2222]

In the USA we have a (2 stroke turbo) KZbin channel who owns a fleet of mini/micro cars, and has a repair shop as well!

[@nickb5391]

The best vehicle BMW have ever made 😂😂😂😉😉

[@sandrodunatov485]

When I was a kid I saw two adult friends climbing out and in one white ISO Isetta (already a rare sight in 1969-1970) laughing and smiling like they were having a lot of fun. I was shocked: a car with a single door on the front!! I felt like having seen a flying saucer.

[@tedthesailor172]

A friend of mine used to have a Heinkel Trojan and he often carried 3 workmates to the local factory and home again. I believe it was quicker than walking...

[@AndreiTupolev]

The UK license-built versions were built at the old Brighton locomotive works, interestingly.

[@davidshanahan5134]

They’d have had the equipment to handle the massive components of the Isetta then :)

[@Radfordperson]

Mine was, most fun car I've owned in over 50 years of various car ownership.

[@phaasch]

It was an almost seamless transition. They built their last engine for BR in 1957, and the following year were turning these out. It would be interesting to know how many of the old workforce managed to make the transition.

[@realnutteruk1]

My dad crashed an Isetta in fog at Hyde Park Corner, with my future mother in the passenger seat.... She still married him, and here I am!

[@Hope_Boat]

I can assure you you weren't conceived inside the Isseta thought.

[@cheesesandwich1236]

Ha Ha, nice. My uncle in Germany had one. He said one night he was taking a young lady to dance with his Isetta. He slid off a rainy road and the car hit a tree at a slow speed but now the car was stuck against the tree, keeping the door closed. He said they had to climb out of the sunroof to get out. I guess this young lady was not impressed because she did not become my aunt !

[@thomasauslander3757]

​@@cheesesandwich1236That's right.. the front door ? Looks ejection seats would be great..

[@martinmcdonald4207]

That`s love! Ha Ha.

[@samholdsworth420]

Your dad must have a tiny weiner

[@chriswilkinson1991]

The smile on Ian’s face driving this

[@saiteninstrumente-and-music]

When I was about 14, my elder Brother had such a little beast. The Isetta was so loud inside, that we could`nt understand one another, except crying and the gearbox was heavy to handle. And behind us, their was a very long row of frustrated drivers, as we tried to master a steep road. You must always be a good mechanic with several tools, to keep this little threewheeler running, but we have had much fun too. Sorry for my english.🙂

[@frogandspanner]

In those days the alternative was a British bike with sidecar, and a set of tools was a prerequisite. I still have a 1966 Norton 650SS, and wire, pliers, a screwdriver and a hammer have always been essential.

[@milquetoastmotorcyclist9800]

What a fun memory. Thank you for sharing! You did a great job with your English. Only one spelling mistake. 🙂

[@saiteninstrumente-and-music]

@@milquetoastmotorcyclist9800 Thank you so much!🙂

[@AndreiTupolev]

This is the distilled essence of "power: less is more"

[@roseybut]

The ultimate driving machine!

[@briandawkins984]

@@roseybut gee, where have I heard that tagline before?😂

[@xXturbo86Xx]

Single cylinder motor with low fuel consumption. Enough space for the groceries. Roof, doors and windows. That's all i need. If a company made suchs little cars today, i'd buy one. Maybe two, one for my mum as well.

[@uwekall6281]

Look for 'microlino' but it's a bit expensive...

[@drdoolittle5724]

sorry, it has two cylinders but a used 2cv @ £4000 is more than you ask for - with spares in the post as well!😁

[@EmilePoelman]

Citroen Ami?

[@grossteilfahrer]

French moped cars.

[@wobby1516]

There is one and it’s electric, looks identical.

[@ablestringer9063]

That little engine was cute. The sound reminded me of a Honda 90 I used to have.

[@CambrianClassicsLtd]

That has been beautifully restored. Just lovely. Looks a load of fun!

[@jamesmiller6977]

I owned a BMW Isetta in 1970 which I had bought for £15. Mine was a right hand drive version. You could still buy new spares for them then, from Isetta concessionaires based in Purley, Croydon. Gosh, I wish I still had it!

[@christiankastorf4836]

Yes, the Isettas sold in Germany had two rear wheels, set that close together that no differential gears were needed. A friend of mine, not a lightweight person, broke that solid axis when he dashed around a corner too quickly. You cannot cheat physics. Apart from the nicknames "Asphaltblase" (tarmac bubble) or "Knutschkugel" (hugging ball) people used the name "Schlaglochsuchgerät", that ironical innuendo to military compound word-monsters translates into "pothole detector", whatever you did to avoid them with your front wheels, the rear ones would "find" them. and a lot of sideroads in 1950s/60s Germany were not paved. Fun fact: The canvas roof was a requirement by the German authorities. They demanded a way to help people out if the car had crashed into a tree, other car or wall and could not be rolled back.

[@bergolli1]

My uncle had one, but German edition with 2 wheels nearly together at the back "axle". It was called "pothole detector". Cheers from Germany

[@bordersw1239]

One of my early childhood memories - watching a guy pull up close to a wall in a car park in Solihull in one of these, around 1970. Unfortunately he didn’t have reverse gear and couldn’t open the door, he was well and truly stuck. He opened the window and started calling for help - closely followed by laughter from all corners of the car park.

They do have a reverse gear, so unless the car was malfunctioning this would not happen. You can always exit through the sunroof.

[@rattlacottagebakery7830]

I remember parking mine ‘sideways’ so that the front door opened on to the pavement. Pedestrians weren’t happy as I blocked the pavement when I opened the door

[@staffordian]

I have a feeling some might not have done. Quirky licence restrictions meant having a reverse gear meant it couldn't be driven on a motorbike licence, IIRC.

[@chrisweeks6973]

@@staffordian Initially, that was correct about the licence, but the regs were changed to allow reverse. Reverse was always fitted, but there was a blanking-piece fitted until the regs changed that prevented selection; remove and hey-presto!

[@iansavage2885]

I'm proud to say I had one , the only BMW I have ever wanted....Great fun, bought for £60, daily driver to work, Surbiton to Camberley in West Surrey. A I recall the fuel filler cap had a wooden stick attached so I could read fuel level, lever behind seat back for petrol cut off, and battery under the seat. Built in Brighton, but LHD......I wish I still owned it.

[@marksntl7632]

My Uncle & Aunt had one of these back in the 60's. They sat me on the parcel shelf when I was around 3 & 4 yrs old. I can remeber it well 🤣

[@SloopyDog]

I had a couple of Issettas in the 1960s I loved them. If they still made them I would buy one.

[@danforrest6440]

I had a Trojan 200 (purple) in the early 70s - it had some issues but got me around. Even though I have always had a full car and bike license later on had a Robin mk1, now that was a hoot to drive. Recently bought a Robin mk2 for my nephew, and to drive periodically on visits, I love microcars

[@tedthesailor172]

I had a Reliant, but it was too prone to tipping on corners. later I got a Berkeley T60 with two wheels at the front and a 500cc 3-cylinder engine. Now that thing absolutely flew and handled...

[@danforrest6440]

Always wanted a Berkeley T60, looked like a shrunken Cobra, 3 cyl 2 stroke, magic

[@Kenny_P_abz]

Our local Mazda dealer is selling the modern electric equivalent, the Microlino. This was a fabulously entertaining review, thanks!

[@deanevans5346]

Uncle had one..drove from Oxford to Rotherham every weekend..winter '63..also lived on a canal boat.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

I can but salute your Uncle...that is no mean journey back then....and the canal boat... Jeeze....Brrrr...winters back then were severe....heating very basic indeed.

[@staffordian]

That brought back memories! A mate of mine had one in the early 70s. Right hand drive, with concrete counterweight on the lefthand side. It didn't stop him tipping it once or twice on left hand bends; luckily only at walking pace. He just got out, put it upright and carried on😂. He used to throw the BMW ignition key onto the pub table to impress everyone, which worked until they saw the car... And Mr Hubnut's struggle with the gear lever reminded me of the one time he gave me a lift in it. The gear lever came off in his hand when he tried to find first gear.

[@Radfordperson]

The gearbox in good condition was a delight to use, and it did have reverse as some people think that it didn't.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

@@Radfordperson The reverse gear situation someone has answered elsewhere...it had to do with Motor.Cycle licences and that's why Euro Isettas had four wheels (Twin Rear) and the UK Gov of the day said that made it a car not driveable on a Motorbike licence...and the question of the reverse was also a problem (Motorbikes don't have a reverse) But the rules got amended and the majority DID indeed have a reverse gear..... It was only a blanking plate that had to be fitted on the early imported models.... I had one when I was 13 or 14....It had three wheels and I am almost....almost 100% sure it had reverse! (I'm 72 now, the old memory cells are not what they were!)

[@Radfordperson]

@@patagualianmostly7437 I owned one when I was 16, 73 now!

[@annsmith8000]

Cor blimey mate life must been viewed as cheap to manufacturers. As an apprentice mechanic I remember these fun machines, they coincided with the mini skirt era, happy days of my youth......Rob

[@TheStobb50]

The bubblecar brings back memories, my dad was a police man and I remember him telling me about going to the seen of a accident involving a bubblecar that ended in the kiosk of a petrol station, because they don’t have much in the way of corners, so if you roll one it just keeps going like a football

[@keithfletcher6123]

Funny I’ve never had the slightest interest in ‘bubble cars’ as such … but that is really really cool … but as you said ‘mildly terrifying’ - given modern expectations of not using your legs as a crumble zone and your face as an airbag … the exposure to risk will be a good promotor of defensive driving. Why all car drivers should ride a motorbike if only to understand how your driving style, how you read the road & anticipating the randomness of other drivers actions directly impacts your own survival. Just love it 😁

[@daniellee9015]

Absolutely brilliant video ian miss hubnut ❤👍what an amazing car absolutely beautiful car love that noise from the engine brilliant

[@davidallum2728]

That's hilarious, such a beautiful little bubble car. My friends and I in the 60s bought a Trojan for £12 ( we were only 15 so no licence) but we used to drive around our council estate until my mate rolled it. The engine was still running upside down. After that we took out the broken widows and made a beach buggy. Then abandoned it in the council garages.

[@poolfarm2]

I drove from Birmingham to Weston-super-mare (and back) on the M5 in the same day in my old Isetta with no issues at all :)

[@felipesancho]

16:23 those bikers green with envy!

[@TheDigitalAura]

I'm very envious. I'd love to have one of those.

[@martinneumann7783]

Lovely! We hadn't a car in our family. But in my kindergarten there was an Isetta to play with. I wasn't a child who wants to play or have fights with others all the time. Being alone in this car... and I was happy. This was over fifty years ago. Thanks for this wonderful road test and see you soon on one of your channels »»» Martin

[@eddiestevenson-kaatsch6306]

I was given an engineless one when I was about eight, and my mother hid it behind our bamboo patch (big garden), where me and my friends could have adventures with it!

[@martinneumann7783]

@@eddiestevenson-kaatsch6306 …so we started «driving» in a similar way… 😊

[@jetblack6953]

That was brilliant Ian these were VERY trendy in the 60's when I was growing up and especially for the girls,and I have actually had a ride in one.

In the 1960s they were regarded as ordinary transportation, as was the Heinkel-Trojan.

[@andyb.1026]

The car, or the Girl 😅

[@antcullimore3550]

My Mum plus two larger ladies used to pop off to the WI meetings in one of these. Memories of our life in Kent !!

[@davefrench3608]

That was brilliant, and the blue one at the was just hilarious

[@JohnMintyTech]

What a cute little car 🙂

[@iwbarke]

In the mid 70s when I was in the 6th Form one of the guys had an Isetta and used it as his school transport. When he'd parked and gone inside, with monotonous / hilarious regularity a group of lads (guilty m'lud) would appear from round a corner, lift up the back end and wheel it up to the nearest wall. The handbrake and steering operated on the back wheel so that was easy when there at least a couple of you. Later on, just after 4pm when the rest of us were on the buses and heading home, there would be a pleading knock on the staffroom door and the request, "Can somebody help? they've done it again". Happy memories! Thanks for posting this review.

[@jr-hr2mw]

My grandad used to test ride motorbikes for Norton, back in the 60's he had an Isetta haha

[@chrisrand5185]

That was most enjoyable, thank you. I seem to remember that they usually had tartan upholstery, although that may have Trojans. One of my favourite toy cars was a pink Trojan made by Corgi.

[@HubNut]

Yes, the Trojans often had tartan trim I think.

[@roblemon6784]

My first car when I was a wee 16 year old hippy, bought for peanuts. My mates had them too, we would zoom round in a convoy of three of them, mine red, the others white and blue. We were so cool. The best trick was getting five people in it (we were young, we were thin) three across the bench seat and two on the parcel shelf with their heads out the roof and feet between the others, and off we'd head to the pub. Happy daze.

[@robertkimber822]

I fondly remember seeing bubble cars like this as a small child in the 1960s.

[@koini11]

My Dad had one of these. Judging by how much he still talks about it I suspect it was one of his favourites. I've inherited his love of smol cars but I think this is perhaps a little too small. If it weren't for my (very urban) area being swamped with massive things perhaps I wouldn't be so worried.

[@pageant1fd]

Was a passenger in one from Pontypool to Banbury when I was young……enough to steer me well clear two yrs later when I had my first car. As you mention Ed for urban/inner city a maybe. Thanks for sharing.

[@timbassford7701]

At last a sensible video about a great little car. Many years ago a good friend and I found 3 in an old barn. They were all RHD 4 wheelers and we got one running and painted it bright yellow. I ran it for years and was mortified when I returned home after working abroad to find that my father had disposed of it. These days cars have so many devices like ABS, disc brakes power steering, auto gear boxes and computers with traction control to prevent drivers from getting into trouble, it seems that people have lost the basic driving skills like using engine braking and understanding how to double de clutch. Many make themselves look incompetent on you tube videos when they are offered a drive in an older vehicle, especially when the ridicule them (Present company excluded from that remark, well done mate!) My only negative remark is about the result of a head on crash, as there is very little protection and one of the reasons they all had a large sunroof! Driven properly around towns or the countryside, that little engine has more than sufficient power to get the job done without disrupting other traffic. I would jump at the chance to take one on a rally or event if any owners would like their car to be entered in such an event! Any takers?

[@The-Rectifier]

Did i hear you say : shaft drive"? Im pretty sure, you mean a " Chain drive" But despite that, it been and still are, magical things to drive. Many centuries ago, when i was a little toddler...my Dad owned a blue and white Isetta. They did put me..on the " luggage shelf", when they go for a spin. Unbelievable im still alive, Surviving cars without any safety stuff requirements. 😂

[@HubNut]

No, a shaft drive. BMW employs the technology on motorbikes.

[@davidperrott5743]

Even BMW singles had shaft drive at the time!

[@The-Rectifier]

@davidperrott5743 No idea...however the the rear wheel( s) are driven by a " chain", there's no doubt about it. Search exploded views . The only shaft is between the engine and the axle. ( the donuts aka Guibo's who are responsible for the necessary " flex" , have the nasty tendency to break off...) Just as info ofcourse ☺️ My apologies, for any mispronounced are spelled...natural language isn't English. Official info: The Isetta drivetrain included the following: a one-cylinder engine, with a four-speed transmission bolted directly to it; an extremely short driveshaft, with a Giubo joint at each end to allow for flex, connecting the gearbox to the rear axle; and a rear axle assembly with a chain drive enclosed in an aluminum housing

[@davidperrott5743]

@@The-Rectifier ah. So it's got shaft and chain!

[@mrtelechi]

I love this, in my 60s now but saw these on the road all the time when I was young. I love them, they were considered quite cool back then. Thank you.

[@jarthurs]

Last year I was in the lanes under the Cotswold edge and heard a 'moped' approaching and what should appear but a whole parade of microcars, an Isetta, a Messershmitt and a Bond. There was a Bond owners meet at a campsite up the road and we did a crafty circuit before we left. Haven't seen a Bond bug in years!

[@edwardalannewton8591]

Mini hubnut would love that car

[@BaronFlyingClub]

I remember them back in the day. Loads of fun people loved them.

[@faisalharoonuppal4023]

I love BMW Isetta, and the engine sound ❤

[@allanfoster6965]

Astonishing bit of kit. ❤

[@rcaive0875]

Elvis owned two. Yes, that Elvis.

[@2tone209]

AY UP MR AND MRS HUBNUT

[@chriswills4064]

I thought the filling station at the beginning looked familiar - I was at Sweetlamb for a Royal Enfield off-road training weekend a couple of years ago and filled up my sorely overloaded Himalayan there before setting off on my epic journey home to Cornwall. Good memories but VERY glad to finally get home and rest my weary cheeks ... 😊

[@arieplomp8906]

What a lovely 🥰 car ! It sounds like a 2cv , so much fun 🤩! Seeing this this video made me smile the whole time! It totally fits to the beautiful Welsh countryside ! Totally dig your love 💕 for it! Thanks 🙏 🫶👍🏻👍🏻🆙

[@aaronhussain3873]

I do love the sheer variety of KZbin. Came over from watching M539 Restorations attempt to fix a Maserati, and now enjoying HubNut wizz around in an Isetta. What a mixed evening!

[@craiglessels5384]

I met a guy about 25 years ago at Crail raceway with an Isetta fitted with a Kawasaki 1100cc motor and I've wanted one ever since

[@DetroitMicroSound]

Imagine a period-correct Group B era Isetta set up for rallying, and with single vintage round amber Hella's in rally pods where the stock headlamps go, and a triple small pod of Hella's on the roof, just over the windscreen. 😄

[@PaddyWV]

I was thinking of the Leonard Lord line too! 👍 Probably the only BMW I like. 🙂

[@grayfool]

Crazy things. The two wheels at the front helps with stability. Well, a bit.

They were designed to have two wheels at the rear. The single wheel was a British-only quirk for tax reasons. Everywhere else in the world, they had four wheels.

[@EleanorPeterson]

Well, yes... Four wheels, but the rears weren't as widely spaced as the front ones. Still more of a trike layout than a regular quad, although you're right, it was definitely a quad. Sort of a quad with its shoelaces tied together.🤭

[@grayfool]

I meant that a three wheeler is a bit more stable with the two wheels at the front rather than at the rear HubNut invacar or a Reliant Regal/Robin/etc.

[@rogerkarlsson3996]

Isettas in Sweden were also three wheeled due to drivers license reasons just as in Britain.

[@HowardLeVert]

1:38 was that a "Baroque Angel" in the inset photo? I know amongst railway enthusiasts the closure of the Two Hoots café is causing quite some anger with the railway. Loved the video though, Isettas look so much 'fun'!

[@HubNut]

It is. Lovely cars.

[@drdoolittle5724]

Superb memory's, my parents came from rich families but lost everything in 1954 so the next 'first' car was a white Isetta in 1960, much loved when you have nothing else! Carried me at 11 sandwiched between parents with not a care in the World for today's frivolities cars now have - mother drove on her own from Newbury to Plymouth, 340 miles return, and because rear wheel ran on virgin snow when fronts were where normal cars ran, she spun into a 6 foot drift! Luckily was spotted and pulled out but she couldn't even use the escape hatch in the roof, because the snow fell on it!

[@keithmatthews1673]

I learned to drive in a LHD one! There was a technique for first gear. You pulled back gently on the stick letting the clutch out until you feel a slight engagement then push the clutch back to the floor and then it fully engaged very smoothly. I did learn to double de-clutch changes and although it was a non-snychro box it was a joy to use. Top speed was 50 and I once got it just over that on the Coventry ring road which caused the connecting rod to let go and poked through the block. Engines were easy to find in breakers yards. I could get the engine out on my own in 15 mins using a brick and a wooden lever. They used mini brake drums and parts and if your timing chain broke (mine did on Sailsbury Plain) a Ford Anglia one was the replacement. I remember the address for buying parts eg piston rings which was Isetta Ltd, Victoria Road, Portslade, Brighton. Happy days. I'd gladly drive one today. Good review! Oh you forgot to mention the reserve fuel tank liver behind the driver - under your basket!

[@countfosco8535]

Do you remember the registration? I might tell you if it's still around.

[@keithmatthews1673]

@@countfosco8535 Thanks - I THINK it might have been WAN 510. I gave it away as a runner in 1971 after moving to 4 wheeled transport but not without regrets!

[@malcolmwillis6450]

I owned one of these BMW powered Isetta 1967 to 1969, mine was a chain driven version, 3 wheels, RH drive. Drove it all over the place through London regularly mixing it up with buses and taxis. I remember it being as quick and more top end speed than a Mini. I got over 80 mph downhill on the A3. Bought it for 10 pounds and sold it two years late for 10 pound, great vehicle.

[@v12mike30]

I met someone in NZ in the late 1960s who owned one and he claimed to regularly drive it at 60 MPH when he went fishing in the back blocks. He would also take it on 4WD trails to get to his favourite fishing holes, if it got stuck he and his mate could just lift and carry it. Or so he said...

[@Morecheeeeese]

Ian you definitely need to wear a cowboy hat when you're driving bluey, biggest one you can lay your hands on

[@peterlawrence3152]

Mum and Dad had one as a first car. Thanks for showing us.

[@rudolphbondefangerer5513]

My father's uncle had one of these in the 60s. He was known to appreciate alcohol, in somewhat larger quantities than the health authorities of the time recommended, and one night when he had been visiting a similarly thirsty man a few kilometers away, he naturally took the "car" because you are less likely to fall in a car (even a three-wheeled car) than on unsteady legs. A sharp bend he had forgotten appeared, it was winter, it was cold, it was slippery, there was snow, and he stood with his nose, i.e. the door, buried in heavy snow. And he had steel roofs, not that fancy canvas stuff. There he stood, preparing to freeze to death. Fortunately, there was a third drunk in the village, who had also been out drinking and was on his way home. He saw this light blue bubble on the side of the road, grabbed it and pulled it back onto the road, and continued home without a word. These two weren't friends, there was something about one of them having stolen a beer keg in 1937 or something else unforgivable. Anyway, my father's uncle started the vehicle and drove home. But since then, no one in my family has driven a car with the door in the front.

[@countfosco8535]

I love your comment.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

@@countfosco8535 Me too! Love it!

[@markwade1376]

Excellent vid as usual👍 and lovely scenery.

[@billdennis3681]

My dad had one in Sunderland love going around in it and pushing it back for dad.

[@malcolmyoung7866]

My cousin had a bubble car.. he was 6ft 2in… and drove it from north Fife…..to Guildford… in 1972.

[@jdtseventyfour]

What a fantastic little car. Absolutely beautiful condition too. The noise reminds me of my old Kawasaki Z200 motorbike that was also a single cylinder. thanks for sharing such a facinating little car :-)

[@dr.deborahkatharinestevens318]

Super camera work, very professional and enjoyable. Thank you very much.👍❤

[@Equiluxe1]

I can remember my older sister going to school in one of those with about five other children in the car, this was in the mid 50,s when I was about four at the time what makes it so memorable is the door at the front with the steering wheel coming out with it. Not sure the police would approve of one being used for a school run these-days. Later in the 70's I restored one for a friend and when I took it for a test drive the gear lever detached in my hand as I drove through the lights at the road junction by the roman catholic church in Cambridge, the owner of the car who was with me at the time tried to get out while I was trying to get the car into gear by pushing the gear lever into its ball socket while a bus was coming across the junction so he was pushing on the door in a panic and I was holding the door shut with my right hand and putting the gear lever back in with my left, the car was one with two wheels at the back close together making it technically a thee wheeler, the dyna start was in the fly wheel not belt driven.

[@peterthebricky]

My Mum's first car was a grey issetta one of my earliest memories of being in a car is sat next to her with my little brother in a carrycot on the parcel shelf behind us driving up the A4 by gillette corner looking out at a big lorry , more than 60 years ago but hearing the engine and I can still remember the smell

[@kasperkjrsgaard1447]

This being from Denmark. My grandfather had one. He failed several times getting his drivers license, and in pity the driving instructer gave him a motorcycle license, so he could buy an Isetta. Several years later, because of some new law, he was able to get a drivers license for a car and was able to get a proper car. He then bought a Renault Dauphine which he kept until he passed away way too early at the age of 54!

[@jimmeltonbradley1497]

Im old enough to remember when these were not that uncommon on the roads. One forgets how primitive they are.

[@hughmnyks]

In an Isetta AND Wales in one go! Amazing! Thanks!! I had a six inch long red and white Isetta made of tin when I was a kid!

[@phillipridgway8317]

I remember seeing quite a few of these bubble cars in England, when I was young. I always wondered what it would be like to drive around in one... now I know! Thanks for the entertaining ride.

[@volpeverde6441]

bubble cars when I was a kid in the 60's.... haven't seen one for years....

[@monaabbyhamedani917]

For the last 5 years I've seen the same chap at the same time every morning, in every weather, driving an Isetta. He seems to swap between a red and a blue one, I suppose for the same reason my GP alternates a pair of 2CVs, she said if one is broken she drives the other one. Anyway, the bloke's a hero - every time I see this Isetta its just come off the Autobahn 😅

[@eddiestevenson-kaatsch6306]

Gosh, what a peach! Tim Bishop lent me his, way back when he and I were MUCH younger, and I was without wheels for a while. As you discovered, they are quite hard work, but oh so much easier than walking. I recognise the location, as my family had a hill-cottage within walking distance, and used the village shop that still existed back in those days. As you will have discovered, there are some VERY steep hills around there.

[@tonysargent7787]

But it sounds like a load of angry wasps after you another great video has always Ian and Carly miss/mrs hubnut and hublets and hubmutt 👍

[@webb2kmo]

When I was a very little boy I was obsessed with these cars. There was one in our neighborhood in Ohio. Dad talked to the owner and he let me see it and sit inside. I was over the moon! Thanks, HubNut.

[@stewartellinson8846]

The BMW single was tuneable, being based on half an R50 engine. 25-27bhp is possible so there's a bit more go for the adventurous owner! When i was a child, there were still these things around and they always amazed me. These days, the fact that your legs are the crumble zone makes them alarming but they're still wonderful things. The BP petrol station on the Langurig - Aber road was always a real landmark for me; it meant that I was either nearly in Aber or that I'd missed the turning for Lampeter...!

[@jfv65]

i once did a barnfind. Next to the Opel P2 there was a 1cil aircooled BMW engine block in that barn. In hindsight it might have been an Isetta block!

[@stewartellinson8846]

@@jfv65 could have been, but BMW also did the R25, R26 & R27 250 single and here was also a very rare AWO 425 from east of the wall, which sometimes turn up in the UK. I'd guess that the Isetta block has castings for the fan shroud

[@ruongluesteve]

I've been in that Isetta and believe me you wouldn't want to go much faster!

[@gordonandhollinewhite2214]

I rode in one of these in Canada, on Christmas day, 1962. I was five years old, and rode on the shelf.

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

This is a proper car.

[@christopherhunter2892]

What a hoot to drive

[@NeilBarratt]

Top video. Don't think I've seen a German built 3 wheeled Isetta in the UK before.

[@countfosco8535]

This one is actually UK built. He made a small mistake there. Still a top video!

[@loveisall5520]

In high school here in Texas in the late sixties I had a white one, four wheel, and loved it. A friend had the Vespa 400; both were great cars for kids driving around town.

[@andyt2510]

We saw a right had model of these at the 2021 NEC Classic Motor Show in November 2021. Got a picture of my kids sat in the front seat. Also got pictures of all of us - not at the same time! - in TWC (you took the ones of me in her!)

[@jeffeloso]

I had one in the mid 1970s - had all sorts of issues with it but still drove it for 35,000 miles over 3 years. A couple of comments re the video. The dyno-starter engages directly and permanently with the engine crankshaft - actually a really great system and very reliable - just needed a special puller to get it off (no belts involved). The rear wheel transmission was by chain drive, hidden in a chain case with a shed load of 10 mm headed bolts to keep it oil tight. There was a shaft between the engine output and the chain case - relative movement caused by suspension flex was taken up by 2 rubber doughnut couplings which did have a habit of breaking. The fuel tank reserve was not mentioned - a little lever behind the seat in the centre.as there was no fuel gauge. The battery was under the seat - if there were heavy people on the seat the metal springing under the seat could sag and short the battery - easy solution - put an insulating cover over the battery. We loved it despite it quirks. I still remember its registration 231 THT.

[@2cvstan995]

Love this!!! Great video

[@johnfaulkner6776]

I had one as a youngster. Worst moment - leaving out the rubber mat over the underseat battery. The wire mesh under the seat upholstery heated up and going round the elephant and castle roundabout the car filled up with smoke! A 100e Ford Popular was a welcome replacement. Like a limousine!

[@chrisweeks6973]

Swapped my Jawa 250 for one of these, back in 1964. I had a 75-mile-each-way weekly commute and I was fed up with freezing to the bike in the depths of winter. The Isetta kept me warm and dry and the only things I had to replace were the battery and regulator, both of which are under the seat. The L/H-drive versions have an easier gear-change than the R/H-drive ones; less linkages on the L/H models.

[@patagualianmostly7437]

Correct Chris.... and the difference in the drivers view was negligible anyway.

[@noelvanwilgenburg]

Funny the landscape looks like Normandy where I had an house 10 years ago!

[@large979]

My parents bought the 3rd or 4th one imported to uk mid fifties. We toured France ,Spain, Germany and Poland. It was a 4 wheeler and was very stable. One reason for choosing it was that it actually outperformed many other british small cars.. As a child I loved it.

[@timr31908]

Janis Joplin almost had one but she opted for the Morris Minor.. 2000 miles to get to California

[@philw4625]

My dad bought my mum one of these second hand in the late 60’s as her first car. He could never get it to drive right and she refused to drive it. He reckoned it was the motor mount bushes on the rear that were loose and made the wheel unstable. He sold it to a fella and saw it being thrashed down the A1 a few days later which amused and horrified them both in equal measure. Shame he couldn’t keep it though.

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

Love love love these! I hope you do some more microcars, Scootercar and Peel P50! One of the best shows I've been to was the National Microcar Rally at the Haynes Motor Museum. I took my 300zx and hid it round the corner! Selfie of you and I sent to Joel Pickering!