Hoffmann Auto-Kabine: The Isetta's Evil Twin 

"Jonee" (Jonee) 07/16/2015 at 13:05 • Filed to: Hoffmann Auto-Kabine, BMW Isetta, Microcars

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“Hey!” you’re probably thinking. “Why does that Isetta have doors in the wrong place? Am I in Bizarro World?” Haha, no. That’s not an Isetta. It’s the Hoffmann Auto Kabine 250 and it’s one of the more audacious knock-offs in car history.

Jacob Oswald Hoffmann was born in Düsseldorf in 1896 and was an ambitious entrepreneur starting in his early 20’s. After failing at selling tobacco and furs, he found his calling in bicycles. After the First World War, bicycles became popular as cheap transportation and Jacob got in at just the right time. Hoffmann started out selling Opel bikes in the 20’s, and then became a partner in the Solinger company, one of the biggest bicycle manufacturers in Germany. Their factory was destroyed in WWII, but Jacob got a license to start a new factory in 1946 and began production a year later of bikes with his own name on them. At the time, it was very difficult to procure raw materials and Hoffmann’s plant was one the few manufacturers running. Apparently, Jake had a way of making connections and skirting regulations. Business was ok, but not like before the war. So, in 1948, he got a license to build frames for DKW motorcycles. Even though times were tough, it seems people still didn’t want to power their own vehicles and cheap motorcycles were selling like bratwurst. In 1949, though, Jacob discovered something better.

At the 1949 Frankfurt Spring Fair a clever little two-wheeler was on display. It wasn’t a motorcycle, but it was motorized. It was stylish and thrifty, comfortable and easy to drive. It was called the Vespa and it was about to revolutionize personal transport in Europe. Hoffmann was impressed and quickly acquired a license to build the things in Germany where he thought they would be just as popular as in Italy where sales had jumped from 2,500 in to 45,000 in just a couple years. There were any number of small, basic motorcycles on sale in Germany, but the Vespa was completely unique.

Hoffman starting building their own Vespas by the end of ’49 and they were an instant success. To hedge his bets, Hoffmann also began production of small motorcycles with two-stroke Ilo motors that ranged from 125cc to 250cc and these were considered well built little bikes, but it was the Vespas that brought the money in. Jacob invested in a 450 ton press, one of only two in Germany at the time, the other being Volkswagen’s. Vespas were buzzing all over the continent and all the ones in Germany said “Hoffmann.” Jacob was even featured in Life magazine as the “man who put Germany on two wheels.”

He had a 5 year license with Piaggio, but by 1953, sales had started to cool. Hoffmann had sold 30,000 Vespas, but now the economy was beginning to improve and people wanted something a little peppier than a 4.5 horsepower scooter.

Hoffmann decided it was time to invest in building his own motor for a more powerful motorcycle. He hired renowned engineer Richard Küchen to design a 250cc four stroke boxer engine that could be enlarged to 300.

He put it in a beautiful, shaft-driven motorcycle called the Gouverneur . It was a hit at the motorcycle shows and was well engineered. In what would in retrospect be ironic, BMW was impressed enough to acknowledge that it was serious competition. But, the ambitious bike was a little too expensive and sales were lower than hoped. An overheating problem with the new motor didn’t help any. And, Hoffmann had invested a million Marks in it.

He asked Piaggio if he could put a bigger engine in the Vespas, but his license stipulated that he had to produce the scooters exactly as they were designed. They didn’t want a foreign scooter that was any better than their own. Well, Jacob, in a sign of things to come, told them to shove it, and began producing his own 150cc two-strokes to replace the Piaggio 125. This helped sales, but enraged the Italians and they promptly canceled his license, handing the contract over to Messerschmitt.

Jacob had already seen the future, though, and it wasn’t on two wheels. Once again he looked to Italy. An article about a new microcar, the Iso Isetta had caught his eye. It was like the Vespa of automobiles; tiny, cheap, but stylish and totally unique. It was the next step up from a scooter which was exactly what people were looking for. He applied for a license from Iso to produce the car in his factory, but was denied. Not learning anything from the Vespa affair, he said fuck it and told his chief engineer Hans Röger to copy it.

To be fair, he did have his attorneys check that he wasn’t violating any patents as far as Germany was concerned. Since Isettas weren’t sold there, they gave him the thumbs up, but with one caveat. The front mounted door was too unique and may be an issue, so they recommended he give it a side door. That sounded good to Jacob, so they got to work. Röger worked off a photo of the Isetta and whatever information was available about the car in articles. Hoffmann had some ideas to make their car an improvement over the Italian one. He thought a longer wheelbase would make the car more stable. In addition, he wanted a Hoffmann 250 engine set in the middle of the narrow tracked rear wheels driving them via shaft. On the Isetta, a smaller Iso engine was mounted on the right side of the frame and powered the rear wheels by chain. Röger also designed a beefier frame for their car. One other thing Jacob requested that would prove troublesome was a fashionable column mounted shifter for the Hermes 3-speed transmission. Three on the tree was en vogue at the time on more expensive cars. They quickly bodged together a nearly bodyless prototype and began test drives in early 1954.

The car performed pretty well until the transmission fell apart at 13,000 km. This was due to the extreme angle the shift linkage entered the gearbox because of the column shift. Hoffmann stubbornly wanted it corrected instead of just moving the gearshift to the floor. A rubber boot managed to help matters, but apparently the transmission was always wonky. One other issue was that even without a body, the car was heavy for its size and the 250 motorcycle engine wasn’t enough. So, they expanded it to 300. The only problem with this was that the lowest class of driver’s licenses in those days was a class 4 which only allowed you to drive cars with motors 250cc’s and less. These drivers were going to be the car’s biggest market. So, Jacob did what anyone without scruples would do and just called the car the Auto-Kabine 250 and hoped no one would notice. Just like they wouldn’t notice it looked just like an Isetta, right?

They decided that the budget model would just have one door on the passenger side, and the more expensive version would have two doors. By May, they had a full prototype of each. The cars looked good and were actually a step up from their inspiration. Not having a front door meant it could have a full dashboard with a range of gauges as opposed to the Isetta which only had a speedometer mounted on its steering wheel. The Hoffmann’s 300cc four-stroke engine was much more powerful than the 236cc two-stroke unit in the Isetta. The Hoffmann did weigh more, especially with two-doors, but they didn’t have to say that in the brochures.

In June, the cars were presented to the public. Some journalists wrote that it was a brilliant all-new design, but industry magazines assumed Hoffmann had a license with Iso. They also wondered why the door was on the passenger side and thought it was a mistake since there was a definite reason why the Isetta had the door in front. It was for parking in narrow spots nose-in to the curb. If you did this in a Hoffmann, you’d be stuck. Funny enough, an American writer thought moving the door was a brilliant idea.

Jacob made plans to put the car in production by the fall. Since he had sunk so much money into the Gouverneur and Vespa engines, he needed to take out a loan with Deutsche Bank for the funds to make the tooling for the Auto-Kabine. The money would come in in October, so Hoffmann began producing a first run of cars by hand on its own. They could only make the single door cars since they hadn’t made a dye for the driver’s door, yet. It’s around this time that Iso began to take notice. The sent Hoffmann an injunction to cease production. Ol’ Jake promptly ignored it going so far as to take out ads stating that the Isetta was a copy of his car. Oh, boy. Since his lawyers had said everything was cool, Jacob figured he was fine and took one of the cars to the Paris Motor Show.

Also there was an actual Isetta and now more people were starting to be suspicious. Hoffmann brushed off concerns by pointing out that his car was better. It was more powerful and robust. The interior was nicer. He had the more advanced car, so how could it be the knock-off? Meanwhile he even began to sign up dealers for the cars trickling out of the factory. He was also still waiting for the money from the bank. Unfortunately, though, a development was about to happen that would doom his little car.

BMW had procured a license to build Isettas and their new plant was also going to be financed by Deutsche Bank. BMW was a much more established brand than Hoffmann and Germany was eager to reestablish a presence in the global automobile market. A microcar wasn’t going to do it, but they would keep a factory open while an old marque got back on its feet.

Deutsche Bank sided with BMW and cancelled the Hoffmann loan. In addition, Iso and BMW sued Hoffmann for infringement. With no money, Hoffmann couldn’t pay his workers who then began looting the factory. Jacob filed for bankruptcy. This allowed him to protect the plant and finish building Auto-Kabines using what parts he had left.

Simultaneous to the bankruptcy proceedings, he also fought the Isetta suit. Hoffmann claimed that it was only coincidence that the two cars looked alike. Since they were both trying to solve the same problem, design a small, cheap two-seater, they just happened upon similar ideas. It was convergent evolution. No one bought it and BMW won. Amusingly, they sent him a brand new BMW 502 V8 for his trouble. It was a pretty small consolation. He company was liquidated to pay his worker’s back wages. 113 Auto-Kabines were said to have been built before the end. It’s suspected at least 80 of them were sent to dealers. But, none survive today. The legend is that BMW had them all recalled and destroyed. BMW’s Isetta became the best selling microcar of all time and it did indeed save the company by buying time for them to design the Neue Classe line. Hoffmann’s cars never had a chance against the Bavarians. Jacob remained in the automobile industry becoming a supplier for Karmann. He died pretty much forgotten in 1972. Today, there is a small, but dedicated number of Hoffmann motorcycle collectors. And, Hoffmann Vespas are highly sought after in the scooter world as being the best built Vespas. It’s also been said that the Auto-Kabine was the car BMW would have made if they, like Hoffmann with Vespa, weren’t restricted by their license with Iso. I still don’t think they would have put the door on the side, though.

dimpl09 > Jonee 07/17/2015 at 01:00

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Most important feature of BMWs Isetta is missing here:

Namely that engine/drivetrain of BMW Isetta is solely on the right side of the vehicle. Whereas drivers position is on the left side of the vehicle. This is important. Because only when the driver enters the Isetta microcar- all masses are balanced. This jawdroppingly brilliant idea of using the physical weight of the driver as a counterweight towards the drivetrain is something that all competitors of Isetta were lacking. They may have built microcars with doors and stuff...but they did not understand that a door on the “wrong” side of such a microcar was a very bad idea.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/17/2015 at 04:11

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Totally unknown story to me. And a good one!!! Lovely guy, this Jakob Oswald. Especially loved his idea to just name it the “250” to meet legal matters for the class 4 Führerschein!

I’m not sure in what way the BMW Isetta was restricted. The BMW had 4 wheels while the ISO only had 3, right? BMW did improve the design.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Jonee 07/17/2015 at 05:16

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very interesting.

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/17/2015 at 10:26

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I didn’t go into it, but he was pretty much a war profiteer, so being devious about the car’s engine size wasn’t much of a stretch for him.

No, the Iso also had 4 wheels. The only 3 wheeled Isettas were the British ones. BMW put their own motor in them, but the rest of the design was mostly the same. They couldn’t deviate too much for royalty purposes or they’d be doing what Herr Hoffmann did. They also eventually added sliding side windows, but that may have been with Iso’s permission. I’m not sure how Heinkel got away with building a very similar car, front door and everything. Maybe it was different enough. That’ll have to be another post.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/17/2015 at 12:00

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Haha, why did I try and question your authority on this matter ;-)

Thanks for explaining what actually happened. That 3-wheeler-UK edition was for tax reasons, right? I love how Europe is getting more and more one “market” after all...

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/18/2015 at 02:39

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Yeah, Britain had a special tax for three-wheelers. They also had the only 3-wheeled Fuldamobils, the Nobel 200. Today, Europe is becoming one market? Not until the Brits start driving on the correct side of the road.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/18/2015 at 05:25

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If a car is allowed to be sold anywhere within the EU it’s possible to get it registered anywhere in the EU. When I imported my F150 I had it first registered in Germany because ze Germans handles a lot more of those and ze Germans were somewhat easier on stuff like running lights. A day after it got it’s German registration I registered it in the Netherlands ;-)

GB is still somewhat different, not just that “wrong” side of the road. What about it’s jurisdiction: They still wear wigs!!

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/19/2015 at 19:22

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I see. That’s interesting and a surprisingly convenient, and common sense policy. Maybe some day America will align its regulations with Europe. How did you register it in Germany? Did you have someone do it in their name?

Yeah, what’s up with those wigs? It’s absurd. America is backwards in a lot of ways, but I can’t think of anything where you’re required by law to wear 250 year old fashion accessories.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/20/2015 at 02:33

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I had a company, specialized in these matters, do this for me. And after that I built in some huge LPG-tanks (185 liter!).

Haha, and their jurisdiction can be quite old-school as well. But seriously: They should stop wearing these. Lawyers/judges over here have to wear out-dated ‘dresses’ as well btw. Well, it depends on what kind of court.

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/21/2015 at 00:03

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Wow, those are some big tanks. Where were you driving to?

Actually, our judges wear robes. That’s pretty old-timey and I don’t know what the reasoning is other than tradition.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/21/2015 at 02:03

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I just hated stopping for fuel/LPG. And as I drove about 100 miles a day and that beast barely did 4 miles on a liter of LPG. So to prevent me from getting fuel 2 or 3 times a week I just used the bed for tanks ;-)

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/21/2015 at 02:49

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Good thinking. You could probably make it to the factory in Albania in that thing. Too bad you don’t still have it for parts runs.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/21/2015 at 03:26

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Next to the 185 liters of LPG there still was a fuel tank of 90 liters IIRC. I think I could drive like 1100 kms, that’s not enough for Albania!

It truly is one of the few cars I regret not owning any more. As I do with my Z4.

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/21/2015 at 14:17

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I’ve never had an F150, but I always liked my Rangers. You’re not American unless you’ve owned at least one Ford pickup.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/21/2015 at 17:23

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You’re not American unless you’ve owned at least one Ford pickup. With a V8.

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/22/2015 at 00:45

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I’ve never had one with a V8. I’ll turn in my passport. I’ve had a couple AMC’s with V8’s. That should count for something.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/22/2015 at 03:36

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I doubted your Americanness for a while now. With all this love for Microcars and weird French/German stuff. Do your parents still have an Austrian passport? I know the Swiss allow 3 generations after being immigrated to get a Swiss passport anyway, maybe the Austrian have such a rule as well and you’re in the clear!

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/23/2015 at 01:24

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Nobody still has any Austrian citizenship anymore, but my grandfather was true Austrian, so that might count enough. I’m not sure they care enough knowing Austrians. But, it’s a pretty country. I could live there if they wanted me. Driving the micros in those mountains, though, could be a drag.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/23/2015 at 08:14

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I know this Swiss-thing because one of my ex-girlfriends had Swiss ancestors. And she was the last (3rd in line) that could obtain a swiss passport without ever having been there at all. If she wanted her offspring to have one as well she had to go back.

I could live without a doubt in Austria. And there were times I went there 5 to 6 times in one winter. Friends of mine always state that there’s only one promised land for Jobjoris ;-)

I’d take the Porsche though.

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/24/2015 at 00:14

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Maybe we’ll all retire there one day then. I’ll bring the Fulda. I do know at least one crossed the Alps, so I’ll manage. Would you go to ski? That’s a lot of skiing.

Jobjoris > Jonee 07/24/2015 at 04:33

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I’ve done my fair part of skiing. But never enough. I thing I’ll settle in St.Anton. Oder Lech.

Jonee > Jobjoris 07/24/2015 at 23:18

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Yeah, there’s no such thing as enough skiing. I’m down with Lech. My parents enjoyed it.

Jobjoris > Jonee 08/08/2015 at 16:25

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Well Lech is alright but not the most exciting when it comes to the pistes. Lot of fur though.

Maybe Süd-Tirol, that’s epic as well. Italy FTW!

Jonee > Jobjoris 08/10/2015 at 00:20

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Ha. Lots of fur indeed.

South Tyrol looks so gorgeous in pictures. I’ve never been there. Been to Cortina, though, and that was a lot of fun. The Italian Alps are great and terrific food there, obviously. I think it’s a good choice.

RIMSPOKE > Jonee 08/16/2015 at 13:36

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BMW DID INDEED BUILD SOME 3 WHEEL ISETTAS .

THERE IS ONE ON DISPLAY AT THE BMW FACTORY ZENTRUM MUSEUM IN SOUTH CAROLINA . ANOTHER WAS SOLD AT THE BRUCE WEINER AUCTION .

THERE WERE VERY FEW OF THESE BUILT & I DO NOT KNOW WHY THEY WERE BUILT . ISETTA OF GREAT BRITAN PRODUCED THE 3 WHEELERS IN MUCH GREATER NUMBERS .

THAT BEING SAID , THE 3 WHEEL ISETTAS WERE INFERIOR TO THE 4 WHEEL VERSION , ECPECIALLY IF THEY WERE RIGHT HAND DRIVE .

RIMSPOKE > dimpl09 08/16/2015 at 13:44

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THE HEINKEL KABINE MADE UP FOR IT WITH A MUCH LOWER CENTER OF GRAVITY .
IT ALSO WAS MUCH FASTER THAN THE ISETTA 250 WITH ABOUT 5 EXTRA HORSES
FROM THE BOXER TWIN .

IT ALSO BEAT BMW TO THE MARKET BY A GOOD 6 MONTHS BUT BMW HAD ALREADY SECURED THE MANUFACTURING RIGHTS FROM ISO .

FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND , THE HOFFMANN FRONT SUSPENSION IS IDENTICAL TO THE ISO .

Jonee > RIMSPOKE 08/16/2015 at 13:48

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That’s true. I’ve only ever seen the Bruce Weiner one. I guess they were built for export to countries that gave a tax break for 3 wheeled cars, but I don’t think more than a few were built. Yeah, right hand drive Isettas totally ruined the weight distribution with the driver and motor on the same side of the car.

Leon711 > dimpl09 10/10/2015 at 09:49

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Negatory, UK market Isetta was RHD. Engine was not mounted the other side either, if you can find the wheeler dealers on YouTube where they did one, you shall see.

Leon711 > Jobjoris 10/10/2015 at 09:50

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I did not think that the UK market Isetta was offered with 4 wheels.

Jobjoris > Leon711 10/10/2015 at 10:49

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No it wasn’t (and I was wrong). That’s was what Jonee already told me, just read the full thread ;-)

Leon711 > Jobjoris 10/10/2015 at 12:31

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I realised after I posted but couldn’t delete it. I deserve to be Kinja’d.

Wizzee > Jonee 10/10/2015 at 17:56

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A tax break was only part of the equation. The main reason was that with only three wheels, in many countries, like the UK and the USA, it could be registered as a motorcycle. That automatically brings on lower taxes, lower insurance, and a less expensive or restrictive operator’s license.