Brothers get ready to refloat bubble car

ZURICH - With its quirky egg shape and minimalist interior, the bubble car was a symbol of cheap and cheerful mobility on European roads in the 1950s and 60s.

Today, two Swiss brothers are developing a new version of the two-seater, a full 56 years after BMW halted production of its famed Isetta after churning out more than 160,000 vehicles.

Oliver and Merlin Ouboter have more than 7,200 orders for their Microlino, a modern version of the Isetta which swaps the old single-cylinder petrol engine for a 20 horsepower electric motor but keeps the famous front-opening door.

The brothers, whose father Wim made millions from modernized kick-scooters, plan to launch the car in December.

"The average modern car is way too big for normal use," said Oliver, the project's 24-year-old operations chief.

He cited statistics showing the average car journey involves 1.2 passengers driving less than 35 kilometers.

They built two prototypes in China and displayed one at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show.

"We started a reservations list with 500 spots on it, and in three or four days it was filled up," said Merlin, 22, the chief marketing officer.

The Microlino will be built by Italian manufacturer Tazzari, which plans to produce 5,000 of the vehicles per year.

With the car retailing for $13,700, pre-existing components keep costs down.

The standard vehicle has a range of 120 km and a top speed of 90 km/h. It charges in four hours from a normal plug for roughly $1.7. Its trunk holds up to 300 liters, while the instrumentation is bare bones. "We have stripped a lot of the needless instruments out," said Oliver. "In modern cars you have so many buttons I honestly don't know what many of them are for."

Only 2.4 meters long, it fits in a tiny parking space and its front-opening door means occupants won't be boxed in.

Reuters

(China Daily 08/18/2018 page9)