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Let's find out whether the tiny BMW 600 met its super high expectations and how it influenced its next generation.

The BMW 600 was the German automaker’s first postwar four-seat economy car, produced from 1957 until 1959. On paper, the prospect looked good, as BMW figured the model would fill the gap between its smaller predecessor and the larger six- and eight-cylinder sedans. The 600 flunked at the market, but inspired the design of its more successful successor. The new model scored high points in the key area of automotive postwar Europe – passenger comfort.

The 1950s Germans didn’t care for micro-sized cars anymore as the economy recovered, and the rising middle class turned the 600 cc into a hotly competed segment by the likes of the Glas T600, NSU Prinz, and the Fiat 500 and 600. So, the Bimmer decided to cruise into the party with the BMW 600 in 1957, featuring what magazines and periodicals described as an example of space-efficient design.

BMW called it a “miracle of space,” as it could accommodate four passengers, though shorter in length than the ultra-small two-door Mini. Interestingly, the ‘miraculous’ BMW 600 failed to meet sales expectations, with 35,000 units produced between 1957 and 1959, no thanks to fierce competition like the VW Beetle. So, the car supposed to save BMW struck yet another nail in the coffin. Here's the story.

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We forgive people for mixing up the BMW Isetta with the BMW 600 since the latter’s design was partially based on the former. Essentially, BMW used the two-seat Isetta as the starting point in the development of the new four-seat 600 economy car.

You see, the Bimmer needed to fill the gap between its motorcycles and the cutesy-small Isetta and its bigger-engined sedans, but it was struggling financially and on the brink of insolvency, thanks to a series of failed projects preceding the 600, including the Isetta. So, the marque simply did not have the resources to develop an all-new car with an all-new engine, which informed its decision to use the Isetta as the starting point for the new car.

That meant borrowing the Isetta’s front suspension and front door, leaving only the rear suspension that had to be different to fit the new longer perimeter frame necessary to allow the new car to accommodate four passengers. It would be the Bimmer’s first use of independent semi-trailing arm rear suspension. The rear cabin is accessible via a conventional door on the vehicle’s right side.

Of course, the 600 also featured a larger 19.5-hp engine, a gas-powered 582 cc flat-twin engine borrowed from the R67 motorcycle/sidecar combination. The engine mates to a four-speed manual gearbox or an available Saxomat semi-automatic transmission to propel the car to its maximum speed of 68 mph at 4,500 rpm.

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As mentioned earlier, the German automaker was staring bankruptcy in the face when it developed the BMW 600. It was barely hanging on by motorcycle sales that performed poorly compared to the previous year, while still bleeding from the failed BMW 503 and 507 luxury roadsters.

The 600’s immediate predecessor – the Isetta – introduced in 1955 was yet another commercial failure adding to the Bimmer’s unfortunate string of bad luck, although it managed to sell 161,728 Isettas in eight long years, making it one of the most successful one-cylinder cars in the world. But BMW was desperate to find its footing. So, the idea of stretching the Isetta's chassis and fitting a detuned two-cylinder motorcycle engine in place of the Isetta's single-cylinder unit looked promising.

It would complete the roomier interior with improved performance, all this while keeping the production cost low by developing the new car on the Isetta. When BMW unveiled it in 1957, it immediately racked up high praise both at home and abroad. The press and test drivers loved the simplicity, quality, comfort, practicality, and performance. But there was just one problem; shoppers still chose the cheaper-priced Goggomobils, the NSU Prinz, and Fiat 500s.

It didn't matter that the BMW 600 offered greater accessorizing potential than its rivals or that the car offered available individual front seats, a heater, defroster, automatic transmission, Blaupunkt radio, roof rack, tow-bar, cigarette lighter, ashtray, floor mats, mudflaps, stoneguards, a locking fuel cap, an engine compartment lock, fog and reverse lamps, sunshades, hubcaps, wind deflectors, and windshield washers.

And it didn't matter because those extra accessories only ended up driving the price higher, making them incredibly hard to sell. As the unsold stock piled up, the Bimmer realized the model it hoped would be its messiah did more harm than good. What we haven’t mentioned is that BMW borrowed the equivalent of roughly $3.5 billion in today’s money to produce the 600, after calculating it could sell 400,000 units of the car each year.

Instead, the automaker managed to shift a paltry 34,813 units by the time it pulled the model from the production line in August 1959. A desperate BMW held unfruitful talks with Ford, GM, Daimler-Benz, and Rootes, hoping for a merger, takeover, or collaboration – anything to save it from outright drowning.

Luckily for all of us, BMW's Austrian importer Wolfgang Denzel rescued the company and suggested what would later become the BMW 700, introduced in 1958 as the 600’s successor. The 700 proved to be the hoped-for savior, shifting 188,121 units in six years and bringing in enough cash to develop the Neue Klasse of good fortune, the sedan that effectively placed the marque on a sustainable path to lasting success. The 600 may have failed, but it played a direct role in the emergence of the true champion, the BMW 700.

Philip Uwaoma, this bearded black male from Nigeria, is fast approaching two million words in articles published on various websites, including toylist.com, rehabaid.com, and autoquarterly.com. After not getting credit for his work on Auto Quarterly, Philip is now convinced that ghostwriting sucks. He has no dog, no wife- yet- and he loves Rolls Royce a little too much.