You have to have a sense of humour to drive Alistair Lobb's 1957 BMW Isetta 300. Why?
''Because everybody laughs at you when you drive past in it,'' he said.
There is barely room for more than one in the rare red car, smaller than a ride-on lawnmower.
The Italian-designed micro-car is adored by many because of its egg shape and bubble-like windows, and is commonly referred to as a bubble car.
''It's all right going to the shop for a bottle of milk or a loaf of bread, but you can forget about getting your weekly groceries in there,'' Mr Lobb said.
''When I did the Auckland to Christchurch British Rally in February, I had to choose between luggage and my wife because there wasn't room for both. My luggage won.''
Of the nearly 200 cars from manufacturers in Europe, Britain, Australia, United States, and Japan which took part in the Otago Community Hospice charity cruise and display at Tahuna Park yesterday, the Isetta got the most attention.
''It's always been a crowd-drawer,'' he said.
The Ashburton man said he found the car in a Chertsey hay barn as a wreck in 1992, and spent thousands of dollars restoring it. It had only about 18,000 miles on the clock then.
It was manufactured at Brighton Locomotive Works by Isetta of Great Britain Ltd and is powered by a 295cc four-stroke, single-cylinder, air-cooled R35 BMW motorcycle engine. It has a four-speed transmission.
Mr Lobb said it cruised between 70kmh and 80kmh, and was capable of going 100kmh. However, he seldom ventured to that speed because the vehicle did not handle it well and things got a bit ''wobbly''.
He said it was a little intimidating at times during the charity cruise from Dunedin to Mosgiel and back, especially when he was surrounded by large American V8s.
While some V8 owners joked they could fit his car in their boot, he chuckled at how the Isetta's power-to-weight ratio meant the V8s struggled to keep up with him on Three Mile Hill.
Mr Lobb said he bought the vehicle purely because he had always wanted one, and it went well with his collection of micro-cars, which included several Goggomobils.
Otago Community Hospice Charity Cruise event founder and co-ordinator Andrew Hurren-Webster said he established the event following the death of his mother, who spent the last three days of her life at the Otago Community Hospice.
Mr Hurren-Webster hoped this year's event would raise about $3000 for the Otago Community Hospice.
