The BMW Isetta was one of the more interesting cars in the brand’s history. Not only was it an odd little bubble of a car, with a single front door, and only three wheels on many models, but it also saved the brand from bankruptcy. In this new episode of The Late Brake Show, we get to see host Johnny Smith find a very rusty BMW Isetta in a barn, under three decades worth of clutter.
Underneath thirty years of worth of barn storage sat a BMW Isetta in surprisingly good condition, considering the it’s been sitting there, in a barn, since the ’80s. Its rusty, of course, but there was no where near the level of rot that Smith, nor I, expected. Maybe a couple of small rot holes here and there but the car sat, in the exact same position, for longer than I’ve been alive. If I sat in the same position for that long, I can guarantee I’d be in worse shape.
What’s interesting is that the man who owned the Isetta was an inventor and engineer, who had almost completely disassembled the car. So it sat, it a state of disassembly, for thirty years and none of the major components were lost. They were able to pull all of the parts out of the barn, and sort of reassemble the car on the grass in its entirety. It’s also funny to see two men literally lift and entire car out of a barn, due to how small and light the Isetta is. Two grown men can pick the chassis, with engine included, of an Isetta up with no problem and walk it around.
Seeing it put back together (sort of), after having sat for so long, is actually really satisfying. The little BMW Isetta is still in good enough condition to be reassembled without any body work. It wouldn’t look pretty but it could be done. Hell, it’d probably run, too.
Barn finds are always really fun and exciting, as they offer both a look back at cars from bygone eras and a chance for a new life for those cars. Hopefully the Isetta in this video does find a new life and gets properly restored.
