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BMW 600 - The double Isettchen

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Created on May 11, 2022

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Ronnie Renaldi - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Daniel Reinhard

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Ronnie Renaldi - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Archiv

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BMW 600 (1958) - In "Japanese red" and "feather white"

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BMW 600 (1958) - With front "refrigerator door" like the Isetta

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BMW 600 (1958) - In "Japanese red" and "feather white"

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BMW 600 (1958) - Two sliding windows without a "B-pillar" make the 600 almost a hardtop coupé

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BMW 600 (1958) - From the rear it looks similar to the Fiat 600 Multipla

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BMW 600 (1958) - Side door with real handle

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BMW 600 (1958) - Long cooling air intake in front of a tiny rear light

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BMW 600 (1958) - Air vents in the hood for heat dissipation

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BMW 600 (1958) - The window in the side door is not retractable

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BMW 600 (1958) - The straight lower edge of the windshield improves forward visibility

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BMW 600 (1958) - Ingenious steering column mechanism with two universal joints

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BMW 600 (1958) - the spare wheel sits under the gray dent in the door

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BMW 600 (1958) - In contrast to the Isetta with center shift

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BMW 600 (1958) - The steering column separates the clutch foot from the accelerator and brake

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BMW 600 (1958) - An instrument cluster almost like in a "real" car

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BMW 600 (1958) - BMW did not see the 600 as a "motor coupé", but as a fully-fledged automobile

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BMW 600 (1958) - The star of the 600 only shone for just under two years

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BMW 600 (1958) - BMW's proven boxer engine was throttled from 34 to 19.5 hp in the interests of reliability

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BMW 600 (1958) - The air filter was tilted to make room for the fuel tank

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BMW 600 (1958) - The air-cooled two-cylinder engine ran pleasingly quietly and with little vibration

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BMW 600 (1958) - Unambiguous manufacturer information on the blower box

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BMW 600 (1958) - Zündapp Janus at the front, Fiat 600 at the rear

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BMW 600 (1958) - Round car against a sharp-edged backdrop

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BMW 600 (1958) - Round car against a sharp-edged backdrop

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BMW 600 (1958) - The 600 brought no luck. Only the 700 brought BMW out of the crisis

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BMW 600 (1958) - export models had a bumper without indicators instead of the attached bumper and larger headlights

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BMW 600 (1958) - Exposed door hinges on the flank

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BMW 600 (1958) - From the front, it can be distinguished from the Isetta by the integrated headlights and the trim on the door

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BMW 600 (1958) - The wide rear track also betrays the "big Isetta"

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BMW 600 (1958) - The high-quality design can be recognized by details such as the flush-mounted indicators

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BMW 600 (1958) - Asymmetrical low beam was standard equipment

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BMW 600 (1958) - From this perspective, it could also be a small Italian car

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BMW 600 (1958) - Good road holding thanks to wide track

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BMW 600 (1958) - Unusual proportions. The driver seems to be sitting too far forward

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BMW 600 (1958) - Unusual proportions. The driver seems to be sitting too far forward

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BMW 600 (1958) - It could not free BMW from the crisis

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BMW 600 (1958) - It takes more than a minute to accelerate to 100 km:h

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BMW 600 (1958) - The ideal cruising speed is 80 km:h, reached after 24 seconds

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BMW 600 (1958) - The 600 achieved a top speed of 102 km:h in the AMS test with a lot of run-up

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BMW 600 (1959) - rear view

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BMW 600 (1959) - cleverly designed steering column

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The BMW 600 (1957) is based on the BMW Isetta

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BMW 600 (1958) - the small car with a great future

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BMW 600 (1957) - ideal and economical touring car

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BMW 600 (1957) - see-through drawing - the backrest can be folded down

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BMW 600 (1957) - plenty of space in the interior

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BMW 600 (1957) - there is only one door at the back, but it provides good access to the rear seat

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BMW 600 (1957) - View into the engine compartment with the four-stroke two-cylinder boxer engine

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BMW 600 (1958) - won a beauty prize at the Vienna Concours in 1958

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BMW 600 (1957) - easy access to the rear through the right side door

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BMW 600 - with front entry, but more space - Geneva Motor Show 1959

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BMW 600 (1957) - Presentation of the new small car at the IAA in Frankfurt in 1957

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BMW 600 (1957) - not a beauty in the strict sense of the word, but pretty to look at

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BMW 600 (1957) - admiring glances for the 600-series driver

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BMW 600 (1958) - for short and long journeys

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BMW 600 (1957) - with space for four people and luggage despite its small dimensions

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BMW 600 (1957) - with the practical but not uncontroversial front door

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BMW 600 (1958) - ornate frame with elaborate suspension design - Geneva Motor Show 1958

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BMW 600 (1957) - space for four people, luggage and a proven two-cylinder motorcycle engine

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BMW 600 (1958) - lots of space in a small area, there is only one door for the rear seats - Geneva Motor Show 1958

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The export model: with huge sealed-beam headlights and bumpers, the BMW 600 was not necessarily any prettier.

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Summary

There was a huge gap in BMW's model range in the mid-fifties. Apart from clattering scooters and sinfully expensive luxury cars, the Munich-based company had nothing to offer. The BMW 600 was supposed to fill the gap with twice as many seats, twice as many doors and twice as much engine capacity as the Isetta. It was confusingly similar to its little sister - and failed miserably. A copy of a successful model does not guarantee a copy of success. We tell the story of the BMW 600 and show it in many pictures as well as in the original sales brochure.

This article contains the following chapters

An annual salary loss
An Isetta for the whole family
High quality, but expensive
Drives better than it looks
No success despite a good start

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

After the war, things looked bleak for BMW. The former automobile plant in Eisenach had fallen into the hands of the Russian occupying forces. What was left of the former motorcycle plant in Munich-Milbertshofen was dismantled. A new start with a full range - even if it was just a refurbished pre-war model - like Mercedes-Benz, Opel or Ford was out of the question. So first the two-wheelers had to provide a sufficient financial cushion. When enough funds were finally available for a new passenger car at the beginning of the 1950s, the company abandoned all false modesty and decided to build up the product range from the top down: a luxury saloon based on the pre-war Type 326 was to bring money and prestige. When the BMW 501 made its debut at the IAA in Frankfurt in September 1951, it was greeted with enthusiasm by visitors - but in those austere times, there were few people who could afford a car for 15,150 German marks.

Welcome to Zwischengas!

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