BMW Isetta (超Q版的BMW)

BMW Isetta

If there’s one car maker that knows how to resurrect a motoring legend, it’s BMW.And the firm that brought us the MINI has delved into the design archive once again – to produce a 21st-century Isetta microcar! With its tiny dimensions and simple cabin, the Fifties origi­nal was hard to beat in town, even if it had no reverse gear.

The car was only 2.4 metres long, with space for two adults inside – and even some luggage. And now it looks as if the Fiat 500 and Smart ForTwo could have a new rival. Bringing the concept up to date, the modern Isetta’s dimensions are bigger. That’s to help it accommodate a fourth wheel, as the post-war version had only three.

A distinctive feature of the ‘bubble car’ was its unique front access. Safety regulations don’t allow that today, but the cute shape will remain. And while the classic delivered only 12bhp, the newcomer will easily keep pace with urban traffic, thanks to the efforts of BMW’s powertrain development team.

The rear-mounted en­gine layout will be retained. This gives the car similar packaging advantages to Volks­wagen’s up! concepts, as seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. And, due to its tiny size and light weight, the new Isetta will have the lowest CO2 output of any car in BMW’s range.

That will help it to cut the line-up’s average emissions to meet future targets. A zero-emissions electric variant would also provide a similar benefit. BMW has given no official confirmation of the new Isetta’s existence, but company bosses are said to be considering design proposals.
One issue to address is brand image. Could such a car live up to the firm’s “ultimate driving ma­-chine” slogan? If so, expect more about the new Isetta in 2010.

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要說有哪各車廠最懂得發揚那些經典老車的傳奇，那肯定是BMW！所以，BMW既然能將MINI發揚光大，何嘗不能再創Isetta神話?

Isetta，採用單一車廂的超迷你車，它沒有退檔，首次現身在50年代，堪稱是當時的街頭小霸王。Isetta車長僅僅2.4米，除容納兩個成人之外，了不起再讓你載點行李，現在看起來似乎會是 Smart ForTwo 的勁敵。現代版的Isetta估計會大一些，有別於戰後誕生的三輪 Isetta，新一代Isetta會有四個輪子。Isetta最招牌的特點便是它那"泡泡狀"的車頭造型，可愛的特徵會在新一代車款中保存下來，至於動力，原本12匹馬力已跟不上現今急促的都會區腳步，但講到引擎.......有BMW頂尖的研發團隊在背後撐腰還需要多說嗎? (註: 我認為Isatta會配置的引擎規格或許會沿用如 BMW K1200 GT的直列四缸引擎，並修正扭力輸出來應付負荷較高的車重)

Isetta引擎配置應該仍會維持原本的後置引擎，而它的CO2排放量應該會是所有BMW裡最低的(VW今年也推出了一款類似都會用車概念的UPi)。目前BMW官方並未確認Isstta的量產計畫，只說這仍在企劃及評估的階段。當然拉，Isetta另一各話題是，它既然流著BMW血統，那是否也具備"終極駕駛機器"的美名呢?如果答案是"YES"，那2010年的Isetta就很讓人期待了~~

↓這具BMW K1200 GT直列四缸可爆發152匹馬力，但要應付起汽車的重量，動力輸出得大幅調整才行。坦白講筆者認為要替Isetta重新打造一顆引擎的機率很低

講到Isetta，其實筆者更喜歡另一台BMW概念車: 1991 BMW E1。但與Isetta不同處在於BMW E1仍是BMW典型的前置後驅，Isetta則完全以內部空間最大化來考量；E1風格是比較smart，Isetta走可愛路線。魔羯座的筆者會選擇穩重中帶點俏麗的E1，但一般人對Q版的Isetta接受度應會更高吧 ↓