BMW 507

BMW 507 at the IAA 2009

The BMW 507 is a two-seater roadster from BMW. The such as the BMW 503, designed by Albrecht Graf Goertz model is an icon of automotive designs. The vehicle was priced in the range of competitor Mercedes -Benz 300 SL, which was no longer offered in the spring of 1957 as a coupe with gullwing doors, but only as a roadster.

From the BMW 507 only 254 copies were made ​​, which is why it is much rarer than the Mercedes -Benz 300 SL, originated from the total 3,258 coupes and roadsters.

History

The BMW 507 was introduced in the late summer of 1955 at the IAA in Frankfurt. The production ran from autumn 1956 to summer 1959. Among the prominent buyers of the car include, inter alia, Alain Delon, John Surtees, Ursula Andress and Toni Sailer. Elvis Presley went as GI during his service in Bad Nauheim a white BMW 507

The car has a 150 hp (110 kW ) eight- cylinder V- engine with 3,168 cm3 displacement. Both the motor housing and the body are made of aluminum. The curb weight of the vehicle is 1330 kg (including 110 liters of petrol ). Technically, the BMW 507 sedan based on the BMW 501/502: box frame, independent front suspension and rear rigid axle with torsion bar suspension all around. A distinctive feature of the BMW 507 was, as in the models 501/502, 503 and the BMW 3200 CS, the installation position of the gearbox: it was not like other cars flanged directly to the clutch bell, but fixed in the amount of the front seats elastic on the frame and connected by a short drive shaft with the clutch. Advantages of this arrangement were a later center of gravity and the possibility to mount the motor softer. The clutch could be replaced without transmission removal. In addition, the front foot area is not narrowed by the long Kupplungs-/Getriebeeinheit.

The car cost 1957 26,500 DM, which corresponds to taking inflation into account a today's purchasing power of about 61,000 Euros, and was very expensive for its time.

Of the 254 units had been built for about 220 copies all over the world have survived, five cars are in BMW's possession. The BMW 507 is a popular collector's item.

In the late 1990s, the designer of the BMW Z8 roadster took the shape of the BMW 507 as a model, which is, inter alia, to the headlights, the elongated BMW kidney grille and the side vents can be seen clearly.

Interior

A BMW 507 in BMW Museum

On the BMW 507, the BMW 3200 Design Study Michelotti Vignale based by 1959.