BMW 600 Jolly

[messerschmitt]

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/artcurial-briest-poulain-f-tajan/catalogue-id-2887550/lot-18523600?searchitem=true

[Bob Purton]

I couldn't make head nor tail of the catalogue description, is this a one off or a recognised derivative?

[Jim Janecek]

it is most definitely not an original vehicle.
there is a place in Italy that makes replica Jollys and I suspect this may be a product from there as the catalog says the body is "MORETTI"

Indeed it is a version built by BMW with the most powerful engine in the range, which has been fully redone at an unknown date by beach car coachbuilder Moretti, the famous Turinese coachbuilder specializing in post-war production of small, but elegant cars.

also- the site listed is not the official site as far as I can tell.
The official auction listing site is:
http://www.artcurial.com/en/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2426+++++++2+&refno=10451950

I would not trust the auction description much. They mostly refer to the ISETTA, which this is not.  It is a BMW 600.
One thing I find odd is that this is a US-export version of the car.
It has the 7" headlamps and the nerf-bar bumpers.  However it could be that the export version was sent to other areas besides the USA which would explain that.

[Big Al]

To be fair the description does say it was supplied in the USA and was bought out of a collection into Belgium ownership.

Ghia took cars from the Fiat production line and modified them. As I understand it you need to verify who bought your Fiat, or if it is part of a block purchase, to find out if it went to Ghia to become a Jolly. It is more than likely the same sort of thing happened with Morreli, though they might have intact records. I need to pursue Fiat and Ghia to try and establish the credentials of my Jolly, though it is thought it can only be part of one of two orders, being a particularly odd one. I do not know if all Jolly were ordered prior to construction but it would seem likely. This does allow the order to be followed back on rare versions if that information is available.

[Jim Janecek]

There is no way this is an original Jolly car.
It says it came from an American collection, but it was most likely hacked/converted/whatever from a normal BMW 600.
Eccentric Americans like to do that at times.  Or it COULD have been in an American collection as a normal BMW 600, but then send to Belgium and converted at a later time.
Now :  "The registration book shows the car as an Italian car, an Isetta Moretti open car. "

If the serial number listed is correct, I have a database that shows this vehicle was originally in the USA in New Mexico.
At the time it was listed as "poor to fair" condition with no other attributes.
The serial number could be run through BMW for a bit more information.  I should do that.
The engine has a different number in the photos so it may have been swapped out at some time.
The lack of detail photos of the engine or interior are not helping.
The engine appears to be missing the cooling shrouds and other engine metal used to direct air over the cylinder heads.
What else did they miss in this "restoration"?