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Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Hot Wheels Isetta Dragster Lives
The wacky three-wheeled race car is one of the tiny automobiles being auctioned in the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum sale.
The BMW Isetta drag racer with a 502cid Chevy V8 crammed in its rear brings to life a popular Hot Wheels toy. (Photo: RM Auctions)
There have been plenty of crazy minicar creations over the years, some of which worked and some of which didn’t. Such as cramming a Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle engine into a Smart ForTwo to conjure the monster-performance SmartBusa.
One question that’s probably never crossed your mind: what would happen if you mated a vintage BMW Isetta microcar with a dragster?
Fortunately, microcar-collector Bruce Weiner was so inspired by such a miniature creation from Hot Wheels that he decided to fund a real-life replica for his collection.
This Franken-Isetta will be up for sale Saturday, February 16, during RM Auctions’ sale of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum, a vast collection of mostly “normal” vintage microcars and related automobilia, according to World Car Fans.
The front half of “Whatta Drag” is a 1959 BMW Isetta, modified to include the front suspension from a BMW M3, a roll cage and a single racing bucket seat. Out back, a custom tubular steel frame cradles a supercharged 502-cubic-inch Chevy V8 bolted to a two-speed gearbox, which sends power to a single rear wheel.
That single rear wheel gets the unenviable task of translating roughly 730 horsepower into tire smoke and (eventually) forward motion. Though the car is billed as “fully functional,” the seller is clear that it’s not meant to be driven because the “massive amount of torque created by the Chevrolet 502 motor can be dangerous if driven improperly.”
If that sounds like your idea of fun, RM is offering it without reserve, though the pre-auction estimate puts the value between $75,000 and $100,000.
That’s probably a lot less than it took to build the oddball racecar in the first place. If you want more details on how to park this particular Isetta in your garage, see the RM Auctions Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum sale website. And take note: “normal” Isettas are also being auctioned in the Madison, Ga., event.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority.
One question that’s probably never crossed your mind: what would happen if you mated a vintage BMW Isetta microcar with a dragster?
Fortunately, microcar-collector Bruce Weiner was so inspired by such a miniature creation from Hot Wheels that he decided to fund a real-life replica for his collection.
This Franken-Isetta will be up for sale Saturday, February 16, during RM Auctions’ sale of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum, a vast collection of mostly “normal” vintage microcars and related automobilia, according to World Car Fans.
The front half of “Whatta Drag” is a 1959 BMW Isetta, modified to include the front suspension from a BMW M3, a roll cage and a single racing bucket seat. Out back, a custom tubular steel frame cradles a supercharged 502-cubic-inch Chevy V8 bolted to a two-speed gearbox, which sends power to a single rear wheel.
That single rear wheel gets the unenviable task of translating roughly 730 horsepower into tire smoke and (eventually) forward motion. Though the car is billed as “fully functional,” the seller is clear that it’s not meant to be driven because the “massive amount of torque created by the Chevrolet 502 motor can be dangerous if driven improperly.”
If that sounds like your idea of fun, RM is offering it without reserve, though the pre-auction estimate puts the value between $75,000 and $100,000.
That’s probably a lot less than it took to build the oddball racecar in the first place. If you want more details on how to park this particular Isetta in your garage, see the RM Auctions Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum sale website. And take note: “normal” Isettas are also being auctioned in the Madison, Ga., event.
This story originally appeared at Motor Authority.
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