BMW 507

BMW 507

The BMW 507, produced from 1956 to 1959, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful automobiles ever created. Designed by Albrecht von Goertz at the suggestion of BMW's American importer Max Hoffman, the 507 was intended to be an affordable sports car that could compete with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL in the lucrative American market. Instead, it became a financial disaster that nearly bankrupted BMW, yet in doing so created one of the most desirable collector cars in existence.

Albrecht von Goertz, a German-born designer working in New York, was introduced to BMW by Max Hoffman, who recognized that BMW needed a glamorous sports car to build its brand in America. Goertz's design was a masterpiece of proportion and restraint. The long hood flowed into a low, curvaceous body with a delicate kidney grille, sculpted fender lines, and a clean, unadorned rear end. There was not a single awkward line or unnecessary detail. Every surface was purposeful and elegant. The 507's beauty has proven timeless — it looks as fresh and modern today as it did in 1956.

Under the hood sat BMW's M502 3.2-liter all-aluminum V8 engine, producing 150 horsepower in standard tune. While not extraordinary by American standards, the engine was smooth, willing, and sophisticated. It featured hemispherical combustion chambers, a forged steel crankshaft, and aluminum alloy block and heads that kept weight down. With twin Zenith carburetors, the V8 pulled cleanly from idle to its 5,500 RPM redline. A competition-tuned version with higher compression and different camshafts produced 160-170 horsepower for customers who intended to race.

The 507's chassis was a tubular steel frame with double-wishbone front suspension and a live rear axle located by torsion bars and a Panhard rod. The construction was largely hand-built, which contributed to exceptional quality but also to the car's ruinous production costs. Each 507 took considerably more time to build than BMW had planned, and the selling price of approximately $9,000 (equivalent to roughly $100,000 today), while steep, did not come close to covering BMW's costs. The company lost money on every car sold.

The 507's most famous owner was Elvis Presley, who purchased a white 507 while stationed in Germany with the US Army in 1958. Female fans covered the car in lipstick messages, prompting Elvis to have it repainted red. He later shipped the car back to the United States. That specific car was discovered in a California warehouse decades later and restored by BMW Classic to its original white livery. It now resides in the BMW Museum in Munich. Another notable 507 owner was racing driver Hans Stuck Sr., who competed with his car in hillclimb events.

Only 252 examples of the 507 were built before BMW, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy partly due to the 507's losses, ceased production. The car that was supposed to save BMW in America instead nearly destroyed the company. BMW's salvation ultimately came not from a glamorous sports car but from the humble Isetta microcar and the new 1500 sedan of 1962, which launched the Neue Klasse era.

Today, the 507 is among the most valuable and collectible BMWs in existence. Its extraordinary beauty, extreme rarity, and celebrity provenance combine to create a car that regularly achieves prices between $2 million and $3 million at auction. The 507 is the crown jewel of any BMW collection, a car that represents the triumph of design over commercial reality. It proved that BMW could create beauty and sophistication to match any manufacturer in the world, even if the company could not yet afford to do so.