BMW 507: Beautiful Enough to Nearly Bankrupt Its Maker
Rarely does a car's styling reputation survive so completely intact while its commercial story was, at the time, a genuine near-catastrophe for the company that built it.
Illustration for editorial purposes
A Commercial Failure That Became a Design Legend
Financial disasters rarely age into beloved classics. This is the exception — a car that lost its maker significant money on every single example built, and yet is remembered today almost entirely for how beautiful it was.
History & Development
Introduced in 1955, it was intended to compete with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL in the American luxury sports car market, styled by a young Albrecht von Goertz whose design work remains celebrated decades later. High production costs and a far higher-than-planned retail price meant only 252 examples were built before the model was discontinued, each one sold at a significant financial loss to the company.
Design & Engineering
Its clean, flowing aluminium body avoided unnecessary ornamentation, letting genuinely elegant proportions speak for themselves rather than relying on chrome or decorative flourishes common on contemporaries. A 3.2-litre V8 gave it respectable performance for the era, though the car's reputation has always rested more on its styling than its outright pace.
Cultural Significance
Its financial failure very nearly bankrupted BMW at a genuinely precarious moment in the company's history, a fact that makes its design reputation today somewhat ironic. Famous owners including Elvis Presley helped cement its glamorous image long after the commercial disaster had been forgotten by most.
Value Today
Its extreme rarity, with only 252 examples ever built, makes it one of the most valuable BMWs ever produced, with well-documented examples commanding seven-figure sums at auction when they occasionally come to market.
Watch & Explore
More BMW Icons
- BMW 2002 Turbo Overview — Classic Icon
Sources: BMW Heritage archives, RM Sotheby's auction archives, Wikipedia.