1958 BMW 600 'Micro Car' Saloon

Very rarely seen, the BMW 600 is a four-seater microcar that was produced from mid-1957 until November 1959. Partially based on the better-known BMW Isetta two-seater, it was BMW's first post-war four-seater economy car and was not a sales success, hence its rarity. But what it did do was begin the design process that led to its more successful successor, the BMW 700. The BMW 600 was developed in response to a need by the German manufacturer to expand its model range but, lacking the resources to develop an all-new car and engine (hard to imagine today!), the new 600 used the front suspension and front door of the Isetta. A need to carry four people required a longer 1700mm frame, a different independent semi trailing arm rear suspension (the first time BMW used this design), and a larger 582 cc flat-twin engine from the R67 motorcycle/sidecar combination. Mounted behind the rear wheels, the engine developed 14.5kW at 4500rpm and was mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, giving it a top speed of around 100 km/h. Styled in the manner of microcars popular at the time, the BMW 600’s body featured that aforementioned front door for driver and front passenger access, and a conventional right side door for rear bench seat access. Despite being larger than the average microcar, sales figures did not meet expectations with around 35,000 built.