BMW Isetta
1957 BMW Isetta is one-door sunroof coupe. BMW Isetta is red with incorrect plaid seats. U.S. version with front nerf bars and large headlights. BMW Isetta has one-cylinder, 300-cc engine, 0-to-50 times measured with a calendar. Odd but possibly correct hubcaps with BMW emblems. BMW Isetta is surprisingly good paint. Photos and receipts documenting a full restoration.
Sold at $16,416
Every auction seems to have one of these Easter-egg cars. They are rolling symbols of a poverty-stricken postwar Europe, when anything with a motor and wheels was a step up from a bicycle. Legend has it sales of this micro-car helped save BMW from extinction. When I owned one, taking my daughter to school became a morning-long adventure, speed bumps turned into speed plateaus, and when the big dogs in the neighborhood started chasing us, we were very, very afraid. This price was top of the market, but justified by the condition.
