1956 BMW 507

[Lakota]

A beautiful car but BMW lost money on everyone sold, so much so that it almost bankrupted the company in 1959. Only 242 built from 56-59,a very rare car indeed.

[99 pewtercoupe]

Elvis Presley had a 1957 model

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by Lakota

A beautiful car but BMW lost money on everyone sold, so much so that it almost bankrupted the company in 1959. Only 242 built from 56-59,a very rare car indeed.

That's freaking gorgeous.

[Mike Mercury]

very Italian looking.

[Yadkin]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

very Italian looking.

Interesting history of the designer:

Albrecht Goertz (German: Albrecht Graf von Schlitz genannt von Goertz und von Wrisberg

He was born at Brunkensen in Lower Saxony, the second of three children of Rudolf Graf[5] von Schlitz genannt von Goertz und von Wrisberg (1884–1933) and his wife, Else Meyer (1882–1968). His elder brother Eberhard died in 1951, and while Albrecht did not technically inherit the honorific[citation needed], he began to call himself "The Count," and is often referred to that way.[3]

After attending school, Goertz was apprenticed to Deutsche Bank in Hamburg and then in London at a private bank, Helbert Wagg & Co, but his prospects were not good, so he immigrated to the United States of America in 1936. He eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he worked at a car wash and in a factory making aircraft engines. In 1938, Goertz rented a garage and showroom, and he modified Ford Model A and B models. On a Mercury chassis, he built a two-door coupe called the "Paragon". This was exhibited in 1939 at the World Exhibition in New York City.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_von_Goertz

[Jobaka]

Stunning!


For those who might be interested:

Classic Car History: BMW’s 507 Almost Ruined BMW, but Is Now Worth Millions
The 507 was a commercial failure—and today you wish you had one.

Eleonor Segura - Writer; RM Sotheby's - Photographer; Manufacturer - Photographer | Jul 27, 2020
https://www.motortrend.com/news/bmw-507-history/

Meet Munich's Dream Sports Car
BMW 507 history in a nutshell: Many people consider it the most beautiful car in the German marque's catalog—and it almost led to the collapse of Bavarian Motor Works.

Predestined to be the economical choice against the highly regarded Mercedes-Benz 300SL, the BMW 507 roadster made its American debut at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City in the summer of 1955. Lauded as the most beautiful car in the world even before it reached the U.S., the BMW 507 when first shown in Europe swiftly became known as Munich's dream car.

The BMW 507's broader history: At the recommendation of New York-based luxury European car dealer and importer Max Hoffman, BMW hired industrial designer Albrecht von Goertz to design a sports car tailored for American buyers. Hoffman, also responsible for influencing development of the 300SL Gullwing, envisioned a sports car that would be the middle child between the low-cost MG and expensive Mercedes-Benz Gullwings. So, von Goertz created a roadster that would captivate souls and pierce the hearts of anyone who laid eyes on it.

BMW 507 History: Ideal Dimensions
A body made of aluminum and built by hand meant every BMW 507 was unique in subtle ways; no two models matched each other entirely. With a design almost too perfect to be mass-produced, the 507's frame was a shortened version of its big brother, the 503 grand tourer. BMW reduced the wheelbase to 98 inches, and the 507 had overall measurements of 172.4 inches (length), 65.0 inches (width), and 49.5 inches (height), which made cornering and parking effortless. The BMW 507 roadster had a curb weight of about 2,930 pounds.

BMW 507 History: For American Consumption
If there Hoffman understood one thing about American sports car enthusiasts, it was that they loved a powerful engine. The 507 received a 3.2-liter V-8 with 150 horsepower, mated to a four-speed ZF transmission. The overhead-valve V-8 was BMW's first V-8 engine, and performance tuning for the 507 included polished combustion-chamber surfaces, a compression ratio of 7.8:1, high-lift camshafts, and an updated ignition-advance curve.

The majority of 507s had a convertible soft top, but for the lucky few, an optional detachable hardtop was available on 11 cars. Assembled by the best BMW technicians in Bavaria, suspension-wise the 507 came equipped with a front anti-roll bar, double wishbones, front and rear torsion-bars, and Alfin drum brakes (later replaced by Girling brakes).

The Price Of Perfection
Of the 252 examples of 507s BMW built from 1956-1960, 34 units were Series I models; the other 218 accounted for the Series II. After its official introduction in New York, full-scale 507 production began late in 1956. With just a batch of 507s shipped to America, Hoffman projected BMW would produce 5,500 units per year, and sell them for about $5,000 a pop.

However, given the high-quality materials used, together with the bespoke treatment of every 507, Hoffman's projection crumbled when the figure came closer to $10,500, making the BMW 507 overpriced and out of reach for most consumers.

BMW 507 History: A Popular Roadster Nonetheless
Elvis Presley was so impressed with the BMW 507 roadster that he bought two copies during his Army duty in Germany. The King reportedly gifted one to his Fun in Acapulco (1963) co-star Ursula Andress, whose ownership lasted 15 years. Other notable 507 buyers included entertainer Fred Astaire, Formula One drivers Hans Stuck and John Surtees, King Constantine II, French actor Alain Delon, and eventual F1 overlord Bernie Ecclestone.

The Value Of Failure
Aimed at the American sports car market, the BMW 507 nearly burned the company to the ground due to sky-high production costs that forced BMW to drop it from the lineup in 1960. Five decades later, the once-defeated German sports car collects anywhere in the neighborhood of $1 million to the bonkers price of $5,040,500 paid for a 1957 BMW 507 owned for 60 years by motorcycle and F1 world champion Surtees. The latter car holds the record for the most expensive BMW ever sold, and you can only imagine Hoffman's face if had he been alive to witness the sale.

Article includes a GALLERY with 58 photos.

[Onebadcad]

Looks damn nice to me, I would have considered back in the day.

Anyone know the msrp, as would like to compare to Corvette.

https://www.lsxmag.com/news/corvette...ble-dream-car/

[GTOguy]

The 1971 George C Scott movie The Last Run features a '56 503 Cabriolet with a supercharger. Not as svelte as the 507 but still very cool. Jack Cassidy drives a 503 in the '57 movie 'Look in Any Window' and it gets pretty good footage. The 507's have always been special, now valued in the multiple millions of dollars per copy.

[Yadkin]

Looks a lot nicer that the oddly proportioned Z3.

[99 pewtercoupe]

BMW brought one to the Amelia Island Concors a couple of years ago along with several other rare models. Like many things it is better looking in person

[IrishSpuds]

@Patsgarage is the most rabid BMW fan on earth.

I have two in my outhouse but really wouldn’t want to own one out of warranty.

[Patsgarage]

Originally Posted by IrishSpuds

@Patsgarage is the most rabid BMW fan on earth.

I have two in my outhouse but really wouldn’t want to own one out of warranty.

I would drive a 507 or it's younger brother the Z8.

[LilRedCorvette]

Originally Posted by IrishSpuds

@Patsgarage is the most rabid BMW fan on earth.

I have two in my outhouse but really wouldn’t want to own one out of warranty.

Am on my 8th one…once they hit 50K miles, they’re history and on to the next one

[Yadkin]

I'll never own another BMW. BTDT. To change out a crankcase sensor takes about a day. The main wiring harness goes over the top of the engine so you have to use bungee cords and zip ties to keep it out of the way. You cover an entire folding table with parts to be removed, just to get access. The larger parts get tossed under the table. Then several cheap plastic hoses break and you have to order them, wait a week or more. Like a cheap lawnmower, unrelated parts are combined to simplify the manufacturer's assembly.

The fuse panel? open up the glove box, remove the rear panel, and you can reach way in there with one hand and touch the fuses. What. The. ****.

[BayouCountry]

Now that was a great barn find.

During his military service in Bad Nauheim, Germany, the later King of Rock'n'Roll had not one but two major love affairs. While one of these involved his future wife, Priscilla, the other centred on the BMW 507. After Presley's German sports car stood dusty in an American barn for years, it has now been fully restored in Munich.
30 August 2021

The story starts in December 1958 in Frankfurt, Germany, when Elvis bought a used BMW 507 after starting his military service.

At the rock star’s request, BMW exchanged the car’s engine – with which Hans Stuck had previously won a hill-climbing race – for a lightweight V8 series engine with 150 hp, which was very powerful for those days. It was sensational: the most successful musician of all time in a German roadster. The pull of the car attracted other stars too, such as the first Bond girl, Ursula Andress, and the successful French actor Alain Delon.

But it was one person more than any other who made the car a legend: Elvis Presley.

The unparalleled success of “the King of Rock ’n’ Roll” was anchored in a new, easy-going way of living that turned many conventions upside-down. And the BMW 507 did much the same, and it has remained the epitome of freedom to this day. Elvis quickly decided to change the colour of his roadster. His female fans were leaving lipstick marks on his chalk-white paint every day, so he got it painted red.

https://www.bmw.com/en/automotive-li...507-elvis.html

[sublime1996525]

Great looking car!