In order for a car to be considered a classic, it should first make an impact on its users and the car industry in general. If you’re looking for a car that fits this description, perhaps the BMW 507 is the one that easily fits the bill. Just a little back story, the BMW 507 was envisioned by US auto importer Max Hoffman. In 1954, Hoffman was able to convince the BMW management to come up with a roadster version of the BMW 501 and 502 saloons in order to bridge the gap between high-end and expensive Mercedez Benz 300SL and the cheap but average Triumph and MG sports cars. Initial designs for the 507 were unsatisfactory, until the decision makers at BMW greenlit the designer Albrecht von Goertz to make designs for the BMW 507 and the 503. In terms of the mechanical package or the inner workings of these BMW cars, BMWs household engineer Fritz Fiedler was assigned to design the mechanical package using as much of the existing designs as possible.
The world caught a first glimpse of the BMW 507 when it was in New York, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The long awaited production began in 1956, intending for it to sell for around $5000. But as the production costs went up, the US price also went up to initially $9000 and settled to $10500. It has its following, including some celebrities and notable figures, but the fact still remains: it was hard to sell something that your audience or even yourself that you don’t really appreciate. It had never reached even a portion of their rival’s car model, the MB 300SLs sales. Because of this, the BMW 507 took a nosedive to the edge of bankruptcy, with the company losing money on each of the 507 models built, resulting in the termination of its production. The result: only 252 BMW 507s were built, plus two earlier prototypes.
BMW 507s Impact
One of the BMW 507s legacies was to create a model that boasted an eye catching style, but the price tag was quite hefty for its time, however this was proabably a good thing since so few of them were ever produced. Which is why today this is conidered an extremely valuable classic car and one that many collectors lust after, myself included. If you are a classic Beamer fan, it is hard not to appreciate the classic 507 and its design.
William publish the MuscleCarMonster.com where you can read his new article on the 1969 chevelle.
