Iso Rivolta Isetta History

Commissioned by Renzo Rivolta in 1951 and designed by aeronautical engineers Ermenegildo Preti and Pierluigi Raggi, the Isetta was unveiled at the 1953 Turin Motor Show. Powered by a 236 cc two-stroke engine developing around 10 PS, it featured a distinctive front-hinged door that encompassed the entire front of the body, allowing the driver and one passenger to step straight in. Four wheels were used, but the two rear wheels sat close together — almost like a three-wheeled layout.

Italian production ran only until approximately 1955, with fewer than 1,000 units built in Bresso. Rivolta's real success was the licensing model: BMW bought not just the design rights but the complete body tooling, adapted the car to a four-stroke motorcycle engine, and went on to sell more than 160,000 Isettas across several variants. Velam in France and Romi in Brazil also produced licensed versions. The Isetta is today considered the world's first commercially successful microcar.

Rivolta halted Isetta production and wound down the microcar and scooter businesses by early 1957, refounding the company as Iso Rivolta with a singular ambition: to build world-class gran turismos rivalling Ferrari and Maserati.