A few years ago, I sold an E90 3 Series. It was a 2006 BMW 325i sedan, in Monaco Blue with tan leather and 164,000-ish miles, for those wondering. And I sold it for $4000. That might seem like a low number for a 3 Series, but it was almost 20 years old at the time and had some wear and tear. However, I do wonder if I made a grave mistake, since a literal pedal car BMW just sold on Bring a Trailer for more. A lot more.
Okay, so it’s admittedly a pretty cool pedal car and one that’s quite collectible, since it’s designed to look like a BMW Isetta. That said, it’s still a pedal car for children. You can fit it in the trunk of a VW Golf, it’s made of thin metal, and it’s, ya know, a pedal car… So seeing it sell for $7013 is wild. However, there is one other reason why someone would want to spend enough money to buy a very nice E90 on what is essentially a children’s toy: its previous owner, Shin Yoshikawa.
Bring a Trailer
Yoshikawa is an artist, metal fabricator, and designer whose cutaway drawings and books have inspired so many other artists, car designers, and engineers. He’s led a fascinating life, having worked for Zagato in Italy, made a book about the Toyota 2000 GT, and owned a business restoring classic cars. Yoshikawa bought the Isetta pedal car in 1994 and it was sold on behalf of his wife.
It’s a good looking pedal car, one that resembles an actual BMW Isetta surprisingly closely. The fact that it isn’t actually much smaller helps. I love the two big headlights on the fenders, which are really fun for a pedal car. It only has a bench seat seemingly big enough for one child, but at least the seat looks made really well. Obviously, it uses pedals to turn the single back wheel, and it has a metal steering wheel. The seller made a funny “cold start” video, showing off the pedals in action.
Bring a Trailer
Whoever paid more than seven grand on a pedal car likely only did so to have a piece of Yoshikawa’s history, as he’s quite beloved in the car industry. Hopefully, a little kid will ride this car around and enjoy it, because that’s what cars are for, even if they don’t have engines.
