The BMW 507 is launched at the Frankfurt auto show on Sept. 22, 1955.
The hand-built, aluminum-bodied, V-8-powered roadster — championed by Max Hoffman, BMW’s influential American importer — was created to move BMW beyond being just a builder of stodgy sedans.
Hoffman convinced BMW to hand over total control of the car’s design to Count Albrecht Goertz, a German-born industrial designer who worked under Raymond Loewy at Studebaker.
Goertz’s design was considered a success, with proportioned lines differentiated with very little chrome. One of the roadster’s novelties — chrome engine bay vents behind the front wheels — became so popular they’re featured on the BMW Z3 and Z8. The 507’s frame was a shortened version of its big brother, the 503 grand tourer.
Initially intended to be exported to the U.S. at a rate of thousands per year, the 507 ended up being too expensive to build, resulting in a production run of just 252 cars that saddled BMW with staggering losses.
In 1959, while stationed in Germany on duty with the U.S. Army, Elvis Presley bought a white 507. Presley’s car, no. 70079, previously had been used as a press demonstrator by BMW and was raced by Hans Stuck.
BMW, stung by ongoing losses, dropped the 507 in 1960.
Today, the cars fetch millions of dollars from collectors at auctions.