by Mike –
What a guy that Max Hoffman was. He talked BMW into making the beautiful BMW 507 which we see here (photos from the Carmel Concours-on-the-Avenue in August 2016).
From 1956 to 1959 BMW only made 252 examples supposedly because they were too expensive. The 507 was a hand made aluminum bodied car that was much more expensive than anticipated. The sales price started at about $5,000 USD but was finally increased to $10,500 USD.
The engine is a 3.2 liter aluminum alloy OHV V8.
It was popular with celebrities like Elvis Presley but was not affordable by enough buyers to be a success for BMW. Today they sell in the neighborhood of $2+ million. BMW really should have made a few more.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Summary
Article Name
The BMW 507 - They Should Have Made More
Description
The BMW 507 was not a success for BMW in the 1950s but is today a very desirable collector car.
Author
Mike Gulett
Yes, they should have made more of this beautiful car, but they couldn’t, as they would not be able to sell them at such a high price.
love the timeless design on this old BMW much like the Pinin Farina designs on the 124 Fiat Spider and Ferraris
They stopped selling them partly because they lost money on every single one. The experiment moved BMW off the luxury sport segment until they started more aggressive marketing of their product in the US via Kuenheim and Lutz who built the BMW sales infrastructure in the 1970’s to the juggernaut it has become today. BMW previously had made great cars with sound engineering but they were neither big nor important. That all changes in the 1970’s.
I remember when you couldn’t give away a 507, in the early ’60s. It took awhile for the beauty to be seen as such.
Back in about 1984 at an early Barrett Jackson, I think, in Phoenix, I watched a 507 cross the block for $50,000. I was stunned. Shows you what I knew!