1959 BMW 507 Series II Roadster

Another great auction at the sale Les Grandes Marques à Monaco, the 11 may 2018 at Monte Carlo, Bonhams will sell this gorgeous 1959 BMW 507 Series II Roadster for about $ 3,000,000. Why this price ? Read the post :-)...

History of the BMW 507

The 507 is a roadster produced by BMW between 1956 and 1959 for the US market. Initially, BMW wanted to exported to US 1,000 examples by year but it was too expensive. Only 252 cars were built. Despite this failure, the BMW 507 stay a classic, and 40 years later, BMW re-introduced the model in the form of the Z8 roadster.

As always in US in this year, the story began with Max Hoffman, importer of luxuous cars from Europe, that convinced BMW to produce a rival car to the Mercedes 300 SL (my post about the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster. Furthermore, he contacted Count Albrecht von Goertz, a German industrial designer who designed cars to design the new model and had worked with Raymond Loewy on Studebakers.

The prototype was presented with success in 1955 at the Frankfurt Auto Show but latter this year the reception in the US was disappointing. Hoffman wanted a price tap at $5,000 but the price was $9,000 more than the double of Ford Thunderbird or Chevrolet Corvette.

The production began in 1956 with the first series. In June 1957, the design was revised, mainly in the interior with a deeper dashboard and somes improvements. And the price went up again... The BMW 507 was reserved to the stars like Elvis Presley, motorcycling World Champion John Surtees, Alain Delo, Ursula Andress, Prince Rainer of Monaco, and the Aga Khan...

But sales were too low and the production ceased in December 1959.

Technical Specification

The engine of the 507 comes from the 502, a 3.2-litre V8 engine delevring 150 hp with a top speed around 250 kmh and 11 seconds to reach 100 kmh.

This model was restored professionally by marque specialist Brummer. The colour scheme was changed from dark silver to the original 507 colour Federweiss with a beautiful dark blue leather interior.

Sources

Auction at Bonhams
BMW 507 Roadster on Wiki
Albrecht von Goertz on Wiki

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