BMW 507: Beautiful Enough to Nearly Bankrupt Its Maker
Rarely does a car's styling reputation survive so completely intact while its commercial story was, at the time, a genuine near-catastrophe for the company that built it.
Illustration for editorial purposes
A Commercial Failure That Became a Design Legend
Financial disasters rarely age into beloved classics. This is the exception — a car that lost its maker significant money on every single example built, and yet is remembered today almost entirely for how beautiful it was.
Generations at a Glance
| Version | Years | Engine | Gearbox | Body | 0–60mph | Top Speed | Price New |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 507 | 1956–1959 | 3.2L V8, 150bhp | 4-speed manual (ZF) | Roadster (removable hardtop optional) | approx. 10.6–11.1s | approx. 122–127mph | approx. $9,000+ (US), nearly double original $5,000 target |
A 5,000-a-Year Plan That Sold 252
Introduced in 1955, the 507 was intended to compete with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL in the American luxury sports car market, styled by a young Albrecht von Goertz whose design work remains celebrated decades later. BMW's original plan called for producing 5,000 examples a year at a genuinely competitive price against the 300SL — but high production costs pushed the retail price to nearly double the original $5,000 target, and only 252 examples were built before the model was discontinued, each one sold at a significant financial loss to the company.
The Elvis Presley Car Found Rotting in a Warehouse
Its financial failure very nearly bankrupted BMW at a genuinely precarious moment in the company's history, a fact that makes its design reputation today somewhat ironic. Elvis Presley bought his 507 while stationed in Germany with the US Army in 1958 — originally finished in Feather White, though he reportedly had it repainted red after female fans covered the bodywork in lipstick messages. After returning to the US, Elvis traded it in for just $4,500, and the car passed through several owners, was modified with a Chevrolet V8 for racing, and eventually ended up stored in an Alabama warehouse for decades, its provenance forgotten until a 2006 magazine article prompted its owner to check the serial number. BMW Group Classic eventually bought the deteriorated car and completed a full restoration in 2014, returning it to its original white finish; it now sits in the BMW Museum in Munich rather than on the open market.
Why One 507 Sold for Over $5 Million
Ordinary 507s already command genuine money given their extreme rarity, with average sale prices hovering around $2.1 million according to classic car market data. The record-holder is a car with its own celebrated provenance: a 507 previously owned by British Formula 1 driver John Surtees sold for more than $5 million at auction, remaining the most expensive BMW ever sold. Other famous period owners included Fred Astaire, Greece's King Constantine II, and F1 figures including Hans Stuck and Bernie Ecclestone — a genuinely starry ownership roster that's helped cement the 507's glamorous image long after the commercial disaster had been forgotten by most.
How Much Does a BMW 507 Cost Today?
Its extreme rarity, with only 252 examples ever built, makes the 507 one of the most valuable BMWs ever produced, with well-documented examples commanding seven-figure sums whenever they occasionally come to market. Cars with celebrity provenance or exceptional originality — such as the rare Silbergrau metallic colour applied to just 21 examples — command a further premium beyond the roughly $2 million baseline for a genuinely excellent, ordinary example.
Watch & Explore
Explore Modern BMW
More BMW Icons
- BMW 2002 Turbo Overview — Classic Icon
Sources: BMW Heritage archives, RM Sotheby's auction archives, Wikipedia.