Excellent they may have been, but in post-war Europe few people could afford cars like the 501 and 502. Just over 4,500 V8s were sold in their first year, delaying BMW's emergence from debt, and by 1954, motorcycle sales were dropping fast too. Looking at a quick way to get an affordable mini-car into the model range, BMW engineers saw the Isetta bubble car, made by Iso of Milan, at the Turin Motor Show. This had a single front-mounted door and a side-mounted two-stroke engine; BMW saw its potential, bought the rights to manufacture it under licence, and set about making some improvements. The BMW-Isetta launched in 1955 had new headlights and front lid styled by Italian designer Michelotti, and, most importantly, a 250cc, 12bhp BMW motorcycle engine, giving a top speed of 50mph and enabling it to keep pace with 'proper' cars. It instantly proved popular, with 13,000 made in Munich in its first year, and nearly 40,000 examples of its four-seater successor, the 600, built in 1957. Convertible, van and 300cc (13bhp) versions were added, though by the end of the '50s consumers were beginning to return to larger vehicles again and the 600's time had passed.
BMW hadn't abandoned the upper end of the car market, however, and two very different cars from the 600 were also unveiled in 1955: the 507 roadster and 503 coupe, both designed by Albrecht Graf Goertz. The elegant 507, with the long bonnet and elongated panels still seen on BMW roadsters today, was based on the 502 and had a 150bhp version of the light-alloy V8. Good for 124mph, it cost a steep 26,500 Deutschmarks plus an extra 1000DM with a hard top, but buyers included royalty, numerous celebrities and even Elvis Presley. Produced until 1959, just 253 were made, most of which survive today in the hands of collectors. The 503 was more conservative, but was the first series-produced BMW to feature a pontoon-style body construction, with its shell - including doors and bonnet - made from aluminium.
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| Sleek 507 influences roadster designs to this day |
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But persisting financial difficulties meant that in 1959, BMW had to sell half of its production area in Spandau, make redundancies and put staff on short-time rotas, and rationalise its car line-up to just two ranges, the 700 small sports car and a new mid-size mainstream model.
The rear-engined, air-cooled 700 was envisaged as a more modern successor to the 600, with an up-to-date, robust self-supporting pontoon structure and a much more sporting feel; it came in two-door saloon and coupe form at first, with convertible versions following to undercut both the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet and the Karmann Ghia. Weighing just 640kg, the 30bhp two-cylinder engine gave nippy performance, and 40bhp sports versions were nicknamed the "working-class (Porsche) Carrera". Hans Stuck drove a 700 Coupe to success in the German Alpine Championship, and Sport versions won the 1961 German Circuit Championships and both rally and touring series; Hubert Hahne took one to win the 1963 European Touring Car Trophy.
