Two wheels at the front and one wheel at the rear. Or the other way around? Shannons are offering micro-vehicle enthusiasts the choice at their Sydney Winter Auction on Monday (July 18).

From the blue corner comes a (red) 1960 BMW Isetta 300cc three-wheeler arguably Europe’s most successful micro-car in commercial terms, with almost 200,000 sold between 1955 and 1964.

The BMW Isetta was originally designed and manufactured by the Italian Iso company, which patented the front-opening door mechanism in 1951 but sold the production rights to BMW in 1955 at a time when the Bavarian company was struggling to develop a new full-size automobile.

BMW replaced the two-stroke engine with the four-stroke unit sourced from their R25 motorcycle. In February 1956. The Isetta 300 now fitted with the larger, more powerful engine out of the R27 bike was launched for export markets, along with improvements to the suspension system and the adoption of sliding windows.

This left hand drive Isetta 300 was sourced in the UK by its current enthusiast owner in 2000 and has been restored since to its current award-winning immaculate condition. Recent work has seen the engine and driveline reconditioned in 2002 and the Isetta has since covered just 50km.

Because of its collectability and exceptional condition, Shannons expect bids for this Isetta in the $15,000-$20,000 bracket.

From the red corner (Italy) comes the equally ubiquitous 1956 Vespa APE 3-Wheeler Pickup.

Diametrically opposed to the Isetta, with two wheels at the rear instead of one, the Vespa APE (Italian for ‘bee’) was launched in 1947 and revolutionized light commercial transport throughout Europe, the Americas, India and finally the Far East, becoming a modern day rickshaw for some.

Fully restored by Mr Vespa in Sydney, this APE comes with both electric and manual starters and a four-speed manual gearbox for improved performance.

With just 38 kilometres on the clock, it is hard to find in Australia.

Shannons believe it would make an ideal promotional machine for a small business or perhaps a collector of Italian scooters and it should sell in the $5,500-$8,000 range.

All 26 vehicle’s and 14 memorabilia lots in the Shannons Sydney Winter Auction can be viewed this weekend (July 16-17), at 65 Reserve Rd. St Leonards. The auction starting 7pm on Monday July 18.

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