Anyone who has recently visited BMW Welt on Munich's Petuelring will have seen it, the beautiful blue and white Isetta. The tiny car with its rounded shapes almost magically attracts attention. However, casual visitors easily overlook the fact that the exhibit is an electric conversion.
The car on display has been electrified. The single-cylinder engine of the 2.36 metre-long vehicle was removed and an electric motor installed instead.
This was done by the classic car division BMW Classic and the BMW employees at Plant 0 - the part of the Munich plant responsible for design studies and preparing for the start of series production. They are keen to point out that the original parts have been preserved so that a conversion back to the combustion engine is possible without any problems. As with the original, the performance is not exactly record-breaking as the 245 cc engine from the 1950s delivers 12 PS, while the air-cooled electric motor provides 7 PS.
This makes a top speed of 28 mph possible. Four Hawker SBS B14 lead-acid batteries (PDF from the company website) serve as energy storage. The 12-volt batteries, each with a storage capacity of 62 ampere-hours, are connected in series to provide 48 volts.
This results in a total storage capacity of around 12 kWh (4*62 Ah * 48 volts). The consumption is stated as "2.98 kWh"; if this refers to 100 km (62 miles), 400 km (249 miles) should be possible in one go - remarkable.
However, a complete charging process takes a full four ho.
