The BMW 507 was the brainchild
of BMW importer Max Hoffman,
who in 1954 persuaded the BMW
management to produce a
roadster version of the BMW
502 that could compete with
Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz
sports cars. Hoffman pushed
for designer Count Albrecht
von Goertz, who also designed
the contemporary BMW 503, as
the designer, ove
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The BMW 507 was the brainchild
of BMW importer Max Hoffman,
who in 1954 persuaded the BMW
management to produce a
roadster version of the BMW
502 that could compete with
Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz
sports cars. Hoffman pushed
for designer Count Albrecht
von Goertz, who also designed
the contemporary BMW 503, as
the designer, over existing
designs by Ernst Loof, whose
sketches Hoffman felt were not
commercially viable. Goertz
was hired by BMW in November
1954. BMW engineer Fritz
Friedler was assigned to
design the mechanical package,
using existing components
wherever possible.

The 507 made its debut at the
Frankfurt Auto Show in
September 1955. Production
began in November 1956. Max
Hoffman intended the 507 to
sell for about $5,000 U.S.,
which he believed would allow
a production run of 5,000
units a year. Instead, high
production costs pushed the
cost in Germany to DM 26,500
(later 29,950, driving the
U.S. price initially to $9,000
and ultimately $10,500.

Intended to revive BMW's
sporting image, the 507
instead took BMW to the edge
of bankruptcy -- the company's
losses for 1959 were DM 15
million. The company lost
money on each 507 built, and
production was terminated in
March, 1959. Only 252 were
built, plus two prototypes.
Fortunately for the company,
an infusion of capital from
Herbert Quandt and the launch
of new, cheaper models (the
BMW 700, Isetta and eventually
the 'New Class' 1500) helped
the company recover.

The 507 prototype remains a
milestone model for its
attractive styling, which
attracted some famous buyers.
American icon Elvis Presley,
then with the US Army in
Germany, was the most
noteworthy 507 purchaser,
buying a white colored model
in 1959 for US$3,500, a
fortune at the time. He
brought it back with him to
the US, but gave it away as a
present to one of his most
famous co-stars, the
Swiss-born actress Ursula
Andress, in 1963. She kept it
for some 20 years and, in
1997, it was sold at an
auction for US$350,000.
Another famous owner is John
Surtees, who was given a 507
by MV Agusta (he still owns
it). It is believed 80% of
507s still survive, a tribute
to the car's appeal. Bernie
Ecclestone's 507 fetched
£430,238 ($904,000) at an
auction in London in October
2007.

The styling of the 507 later
influenced the BMW Z8 and BMW
Z3.

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