This is quite the odd assemblage of microcars: A BMW Isetta with two Bond Bugs bringing up the rear. William Oliver posted this, and titled it “Oddities”. Fair enough.
I’ve never seen a Bond Bug in the flesh, and they’re not exactly common, as only 2,270 were made between 1970 and 1974. Unlike the Isetta, the Bug was brisk: it could do 76 mph, thanks to its 29 or 32 hp 700cc four, as also used in the Reliant Regal.
It was marketed as a fun-mobile; a go kart for the streets. Its pricing was the most obvious impediment to success, as it cost a bit more than a Mini 850.
A Bond Bug was the basis of Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder.
A wonderful bit of seventies’ whimsy.
Sad to say, we’ve yet to do a proper CC on the Isetta, the definitive German bubblecar. We have done the Goggomobile, the Messerschmitt and even the obscure Libelle, but no Isetta. One of thes days I’d like to do a proper retrospective, but the very short story is that BMW licensed the Italian Isetta, and then used its own engines and other running gear. The original Isetta 250 had the bubble windows of the Italian Isetta, but the 300, which came out in 1956, and was the definitive version, had more conventional sliding side windows.
The engines were based on BMW’s single cylinder 250 motorcycle engine, with a fan to keep it cool. The 300 mustered 13 hp, enough for a top speed of 53 mph. I remember seeing plenty of these in Innsbruck in the late fifties, carrying German tourists south, with bags tied to the rear luggage rack. For many Germans, this was the first chance they ever had to indulge their wanderlust, and drive themselves to Tirol and over the Brenner Pass (slowly), into Italy; the Isetta was heading back to its country of origin.
Two wedges of Cheshire Cheese and a cream Egg!
LOL!
76 mph in a Bond Bug?
No thanks!
+1!
It’d feel just like 76 knots would in a Cub in turbulence. Point the nose in the direction you want and don’t over correct.
I’ve got serious reservations on any three wheeler with the single wheel in the front, Jeremy Clarkson’s deliberate stupidities nonwithstanding. Single wheel rear is the only way to go in that format, and I’ve ridden chopped Harley trikes.
But this the rare 4-wheeled Isetta, which you couldn’t drive on a motorcycle licence because it had too many wheels !
The Bond Bug came after the merger (?) of Bond and Reliant, and used the Reliant engine, which was a sort-of copy of the pre-war Austin 7 engine. The 750 motor club allowed the use of Reliant engines in their racing series when Austin 7 engines became unobtainable.
I’m not sure if the Bug still had side valves or if the motor was up-dated to ohv.
4-wheeled Isettas were actually much more common in Germany, where the actual number of wheels was not relevant – engine displacement was what mattered most. The rules have again been changed in recent years (EU-wide), a three-wheeled vehicle with maximum engine power of 15kW can be driven with only a motorcycle licence. Which lead to creatures like the Ellenator, a VW Polo, Seat Ibiza or Skoda Fabia without rear axle. The two wheels count as one if the total width does not exceed 46,5 cm (no idea where that arbitrary number came from).
RHD 3-wheel versions of the Isetta were built in Brighton for the UK market, so they could be driven on a motorcycle licence.
Did any of the Oregonian CC’ers get to the Microcar Show at McMenamin’s in Forest Grove a few weeks ago? My daughter, who lives in PDX, sent me this picture of a Honda 400 powered Berkeley (I grew up in Berkeley and owned a CB400F).
My BIL bought a 4 wheel Issetta when he worked as a parts manager for BMW Rover it fits neatly in your hand but carries an actual BMW part number very detailed model as youd expect from BMW.
Its a hatch
Margaret Thatcher once had a Bond Bug, AND a Ford Fiesta. FACT.
Does owning a Bond Bug make her the Fiberglass Lady instead of the Iron Lady?
The Bond Bug looks like what would be produced if a Bricklin and a tricycle got frisky in a dark garage while Barry White was playing in the background.
+1
Cut it out ! .
Every time I see Micro Cars , I go reeling back to the 1960’s and begin looking for a Reliant or maybe a Bond…..
-Nate
Cute little car for around town maybe, 25mph max. I’m surprised Germans took them on long vacations. They look like real death traps, with the front door like that. Hit anything head on, and it would be your coffin for sure .
There were apocryphal tales of people driving into a garage up to the back wall and then getting stuck because they couldn’t get the door open… and apparently some makes had no reverse gear!
Starving to death in a garage in a front-door Isetta with no reverse gear would certainly be a novel way to meet one’s demise.
You could climb out through the sun roof, if there’s one. But if you’re badly injured or dead, forget it.
A Reliant Robin met a Bond Bug. After a short conversation, the Robin said “sorry, I didnt get your name” The Bug responded-“Bug, Bond Bug”.
Should be: Bond, Bug Bond.
That was the first thing that passed through my twisted mind as well.
Bug Bond sounds like a brand of fly paper though!
The only Bond that would deserve one of these would be Brosnain.
Objections?
One have to wonder why Reliant insisted on a single front wheel and a pair for the rear while the other way around has long proven to be more stable. Anyone got any insights?
Cheaper, lighter, faster in a straight line.
Probably easier that way, plus it would be more stable (static) for the versions with rear seats and luggage space.
Bond Bug: The perfect car for you if you need to park under a stairwell. Get out first, then push it the rest of the way.