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The BMW 507: 1956 -1959

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The BMW 507 rolled out in 1956, a drop-dead gorgeous roadster that aimed to steal hearts from Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. This rear-wheel-drive, two-seat convertible was no mere car. It was BMW’s bold swing at the luxury sports car market, blending Bavarian engineering with a body so stunning it could stop traffic. Designed to woo American buyers, the 507 carried a hefty price tag. Its short run and rarity made it a legend, a machine that nearly bankrupted BMW but cemented its place in automotive history.

Series I 1956-1957

BMW was clawing its way back from post-war ruin in the early 1950s, building quirky Isetta bubble cars and solid but stodgy sedans. Enter Max Hoffman, a New York importer with a knack for spotting gaps in the market and who was also responsible for influencing the development of one of the 507‘s target cars, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing as well as the Porsche 356 Speedster. Hoffman saw Americans craving a stylish, high-performance roadster to rival the Jaguar XK140 and Mercedes-Benz 300SL. He pitched BMW on a flagship convertible, envisioning a car that could blend European elegance with Stateside swagger and position itself between low-cost British roadsters and the Mercedes and Jaguar. BMW listened, and the 507 was born.

The project kicked off in 1954, with designer Albrecht Graf Görtz penning the lines. Görtz, a German expat trained under Raymond Loewy, had a flair for sculptural beauty. His 507 design was a masterpiece: long hood, low-slung profile, and smooth curves that flowed like a jazz riff. The aluminum body, hand-formed at BMW’s Munich plant, sat on a shortened version of the conservative 503 platform with a 97.6-inch wheelbase. The hand-formed bodies ensured that no two 507s were exactly the same. Unveiled at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and later the 1955 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 507 drew gasps and quickly became known as the “BMW Sensation.” The sleek, graceful fenders, elongated horizontal front kidney grills and chromed side vents had a stunning visual impact.

Max Hoffman originally intended the car to sell for $5,000, which he believed would allow for a production run of 5,000 per year. The high production costs involved with the car pushed the price upward and upward, and by late 1956 it hit U.S. showrooms priced at $10,500, over double the original estimated price and over triple a Corvette’s cost. You could also buy two Cadillacs for that amount, and it was even pricier than a modest house. As such, only the well-to-do could afford its new price tag. Prominent buyers included Elvis Presley, who later gifted another to his Fun In Acapulco co-star actress Usula Andress (fresh off her breakout appearance in the James Bond film Dr. No), actor Fred Astaire, aeronautical entrepreneur Count Agusta, King Constantine II of Greece, Price Rainier of Monaco, future Formula One head Bernie Ecclestone and champion race car drivers Hans Stuck and John Surtees.

Power came from BMW’s first V8, a 3.2-liter (3168 cc) aluminum-block engine, code M507/1. With dual Zenith 32NDIX carburetors, it pumped out 160 horsepower at 5000 RPM and 173 lb-ft of torque at 4000 RPM. This number sadly fell well short of both of its target cars, the XK140 and Mercedes 300SL, but well above cheap British roadsters like the Triumph TR3 and MGA, both of which could be had at less than a tenth of the 507‘s price. Lightweight at 350 pounds, the V8 used a chain-driven high-lift camshaft and wet-sump lubrication, a nod to American muscle. The oil pump was also chain-driven. A different spark advance curve, polished combustion chamber surfaces accounted for some of the performance. Mated to a close-ratio four-speed ZF manual gearbox with a 3.70:1 final drive (3.42:1 and 3.90:1 were optional), it pushed the 2932-pound roadster to 60 mph in 9.0 seconds and a top speed of 122 mph, per Motor Trend magazine. That matched the XK140’s pace but fell short of the 300SL’s 140 mph. Fuel economy hovered at 18 mpg, respectable for a V8 in 1956. Handling was nimble, though not cutting-edge. The 507’s ladder frame, with a thicker boxed steel chassis than the 503, kept it rigid. Large amounts of chassis flex in early development mules required BMW to up the gauge of the steel chassis from 1.75 mm to 2.5 mm. Front suspension used torsion bars, double wishbones and an anti-roll bar, while the live rear axle rode on torsion bars with trailing arms.

Dunlop bias-ply tires (185/70R16) wrapped 16-inch steel wheels, with optional Rudge knock-off alloys for flair. Alfin drum brakes, 11.2 inches front and rear, offered solid stopping power, though discs would have been more effective. Later models did add Girling disc brakes up front. Power brakes were optional. The recirculating-ball steering, with 3.5 turns lock-to-lock, felt precise but heavy, as noted by Road & Track magazine. A 50/50 weight split made for superb handling and it was a joy to drive on twisty roads, though understeer crept in at the limit.

The 507’s cabin was a study in refined minimalism. Leather bucket seats cradled two, with 36.5 inches of legroom and 37.0 inches of headroom. A three-spoke steering wheel faced a clean dashboard with a 140-mph speedometer, 6000-RPM tachometer, and gauges for fuel, oil pressure, and water temperature.

Chrome trim and a Becker Mexico AM/FM radio added luxury, though air conditioning was absent, but who needs A/C when you can be cooled by the wind? The folding soft top, available in black or beige, stowed under a rear cover, and a detachable hardtop was a pricey option. The 4.0-cubic-foot trunk held a spare tire and little else, but this was a car for style, not storage.

BMW planned to build 5000 units annually, targeting affluent Americans. Reality was harsher. High production costs and low sales forced tweaks. In 1957, BMW attempted to offer a single-carburetor version that produced 140 horsepower to cut costs, but it never reached production. By 1958, an optional 3.70:1 rear axle boosted top speed to 124 mph. The hardtop option gained popularity, with 11 of the 252 total 507s fitted from the factory. Color choices expanded—silver, white, red, and blue were favorites, with Elvis Presley’s 1957 white 507 (chassis 70079) becoming a cultural icon after he drove it during his Army service in Germany. The 507’s Achilles’ heel was its price. By 1959, it climbed to $11,400, nearly triple a Corvette’s $3874. BMW lost money on every unit, and production halted in March 1959 after just 252 cars—202 roadsters and 50 with hardtops. Only 150 reached the U.S., with most staying in Europe. Elvis owned two: his white 1957 model (later painted red) and a 1958 feather-white example (chassis 70192), now in BMW’s museum. Just 34 Series I 507s were built.

Series II 1957-1959

In 1957 BMW revised the 507 to include more rear cabin space and changed minor details to refine the model, removing the valance and reducing the size of the fuel tank from 120 liters to 60 liters while moving it from behind the seats to under the trunk floor. Updated instrument clusters and minor cosmetic changes were the rest of the refinements except the engine, whose compression ratio was increased to 7.8:1, increasing HP by 10 to 150. Series II production totaled 218.

The 507 wasn’t a real racer, but it held its own. BMW prepared two 507s for mild competition use. In 1958, Hans Stuck piloted Chassis # 70079 (later leased to Elvis) to a fifth-place finish the the GT class in a German hillclimb at Freiburg-Schauinsland, clocking 125 mph. Its balanced chassis shone in amateur rallies, though it never competed at Le Mans or Sebring. Stuck also piloted Chassis #70145 at the 1959 Gaisberg, Klosters-Davis and Wurzenpass hillclimbs, where his best finish was a fifth overall and second in the GT category finish at Gailsberg. Car and Driver magazine called it “a gentleman’s sports car,” praising its smooth ride and V8 growl over the XK140’s inline-six whine. Culturally, the 507 was pure glamour. Elvis’s white roadster, mobbed by fans in Germany, starred in newsreels. It appeared in Paris Match and Life magazines, cementing its jet-set status. Today, restored 507s fetch $2–3 million at auction, with Elvis’s 1957 model selling for $5 million in 2016. Only 252 were built, making it a rare beast indeed.

By 1959, the 507’s losses pushed BMW to the brink of bankruptcy. Mercedes-Benz considered buying them out, but BMW survived, thanks to the 700 coupe and later the “Neue Klasse” (New Class) coupes and sedans like the 1600 and 2000. The 507’s failure was a paradox; it nearly killed BMW but inspired their Z3, Z4 and most notably Z8 roadsters decades later, with Görtz’s design DNA echoing in every curve.

Production totaled 252 units: 34 Series I from 1956, 116 Series II for 1957, 80 for 1958, and 22 for 1959. The 507 wasn’t the fastest or most practical, but it was breathtaking. Its aluminum body, V8 roar, and Elvis connection made it a cultural touchstone. Today, examples cross the auction block from $1 million to over $5 million for the one owned for 60 years by former F1 World Champion John Surtees, making it the most expensive BMW ever sold. Despite the celebrity owners, the 507 did not even reach 10% of rival Mercedes-Benz‘s sales of the 300SL. However, for every gearhead who has dreamed of cruising one through Munich or Malibu, the 507 remains a timeless icon of beauty and ambition.✪

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