Top 10 Weirdest BMW Cars Ever Made (Yes, the Isetta Tops It)

Let's face it - even fancy automakers like BMW have their share of automotive oddballs. While they've built their reputation on those sleek, sporty sedans that businesspeople love, they've also released some seriously strange rides over the years.

Here's a rundown of BMW's weirdest production models that make you wonder what they were thinking:

10. BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (2014-2021)

BMW diehards nearly had collective heart attacks when this front-wheel-drive mini-van thing showed up. Built on a Mini platform (the horror!), this was BMW's first-ever FWD car. Americans were spared this particular experiment, thankfully.

9. BMW 3 Series GT (2014-2019)

What happens when you stretch a 3 Series and slap a hatchback on it? You get this awkward not-quite-a-wagon that nobody asked for. Longer than both the sedan and actual wagon, it solved a problem that didn't exist.

8. BMW 5/6 Series GT (2010-2019)

After the 5 Series GT tanked in America, BMW tried rebranding it as a 6 Series GT. Spoiler alert: changing the number didn't help, and it lasted just one sad year in the US. Turns out people who want a BMW don't want one shaped like a bloated hatchback.

7. BMW 3 Series Compact (1995-2004)

Imagine lopping off the back of a 3 Series, adding a hatch, but keeping the straight-six engine and rear-wheel drive. The result? A weird hot hatch that drift enthusiasts love because its primitive rear suspension makes it wiggle around corners like it's on ice.

6. BMW i8 (2014-2020)

Nothing says "supercar" like butterfly doors and a Mini Cooper engine! Despite looking like it was beamed down from the year 2050, the i8 packed a tiny three-cylinder turbo under all that sci-fi styling. Cool? Absolutely. Strange? You bet.

5. BMW XM

BMW's M division finally makes another standalone model after the legendary M1, and it's... a 6,000-pound hybrid SUV with a face only its designer could love. With a sticker price of $160k and styling that broke the internet (not in a good way), it's been collecting dust in showrooms.

4. BMW Z3 M Coupe (1997-2002)

The "clown shoe" nickname says it all. This wacky shooting brake looks like someone grafted a bread loaf onto a sports car. It's so ugly it's cute, which might explain why these oddballs now command serious cash from collectors.

3. BMW Z8 (1999-2003)

This retro roadster tried to channel the spirit of BMW's classic 507, but the results were... divisive. Packing the same V8 as an M5, it was quick, but that styling was definitely from BMW's controversial Bangle era. Funny how time (and skyrocketing values) has softened opinions on it.

2. BMW Z1 (1988-1991)

Normal doors? Boring! The Z1's party trick was doors that dropped straight down into the sills. You could literally drive it with the doors open, looking like the Flintstones. Only around 8,000 were made, and they now fetch ridiculous money.

1. BMW Isetta (1955-1962)

Nothing - and we mean nothing - in BMW's history is weirder than this bubble car. BMW didn't even design it (they bought the rights from an Italian company), but they sold this egg-shaped microcar with its refrigerator-style front door and single-cylinder engine. With a whopping 13 horsepower, it's as far from "the ultimate driving machine" as possible, but impossibly charming nonetheless.