BMW 507 1957

BMW 507 1957


Image by tautaudu02
In the post-war years up until the mid-fifties, BMW was missing a true sports car, one that could compete with the very successful Mercedes-Benz 300 SL and a worthy successor of the legendary 328. Hence, one of the most complex and prestigious ventures in the history of BMW was launched. An important supporter of this project was the first importer of BMW cars in the US, Austrian born Max Hoffmann. He was an extremely influential man with BMW at the time and therefore involved in the 507 project from a very early stage. He also pushed for the designer Albrecht Graf von Goertz to design the new sports car.
Goertz, also responsible for the design of the BMW 503, immigrated to America in 1936, where he started working for the famous designer Raymond Loewy in 1945. Loewy put Goertz on his design team at the Studebaker company, where Goertz designed the very successful facelift for the Studebaker Champion, the so called "bullet nose". In 1953, Goertz set up his own design studio, Goertz Industrial Design in New York. When the 507 project was launched at BMW, Max Hoffmann encouraged Goertz to draft some sketches and send them to the BMW headquarters in Germany. Very pleased with what they saw, Goertz was given a contract in January 1955 to design the new BMW sports car.
The BMW 507, presented at the International Automobile Show Frankfurt in 1955, is an icon in automobile design and many enthusiasts remark that it is the most beautiful car ever built by BMW. The coachwork, formed around the frame of the 503 model with a shortened wheelbase, was almost entirely hand-formed out of aluminium. No two models were exactly the same. The aluminium body made the car very light, with a curb weight of only 1250 Kg. The engine is an aluminium alloy BMW OHV V8, with a 3.2 litre displacement and pushrod-operated overhead valves. The engine produces 150 HP, accelerating the car from 0-100 km/h in 9-10 seconds, depending on which rear-end ratio the customer chose. In terms of smoothness and comfort, the BMW 507 was superior to the 300 SL.
Although, but to rival the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, ultimately the BMW 507 was never a thoroughbred sports car, rather a very elegant and refined sports cruiser. But the car was still able to celebrate some success in motorsport events, winning several hill-climb races in 1959 with the famous Hans Stuck at the wheel of his 507. The steep production costs made the car unaffordable for most people and BMW was never able to reach the production figures it accounted for. Instead, the company lost money on every car built and after only 252 completed cars, production of this beautiful roadster ceased in 1959, making the 507 a coveted collector’s item today.
This particular car is part of the first series of which only 43 cars were built, and is the very first car delivered to Switzerland. It is one of the most original BMW 507 in existence today with only two owners from new – the second owner buying the car in 1965. Between 2007 and 2009 the car was repainted in its original colour.

Engine : V8 3.2 litre 150 HP
Gearbox : 4 speed manual
Colour : Federweiss (white)
Interior : Read leather
Options : Original factory hard-top, knock-off wheels

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