[Dackelone]

Elvis' 507 "lost & found" on display at the BMW Museum for the next two weeks...

Munich - July 23, 2015

Tonight, BIMMERPOST was invited to a very special event at the BMW Museum; one that we will not forget!

This "farm fresh" 507 was indeed once owned by King, Elvis Presley. Yes the car was found in a barn! The car was recently found in the USA and the new owner has decided to have the Bavarian experts at BMW Classic painstakingly restore the car back to its former glory.

The car has only been in Germany for a week or so... and right away the curator of the BMW Museum wanted to show it off! For the next two weeks, Elvis' car will be on display in the lobby of the BMW Museum for all to behold - farm dust and all. We think that's very cool. You can see the King's 507 from July 24th until August 10th in the BMW Museum.

A short history lesson... BMW first showed the 507 at the Frankfurt Autoshow back in 1957. Right away Elvis wanted one. If you remember, Elvis was in the US Army at the time stationed in Bad Nauheim - just North of Frankfurt. It's been reported that Elvis' 507 was delivered in white, but the King wanted it to match a lady's red lipstick so he had the car painted when he rotated back to the states.

The BMW Museum had a retro band playing Elvis hits and had some of its special 507 Club members bring their 507's to park in front of the museum alongside of some of the Museum's own 507's. BMW only produced 254 of these cars. Most of those were sold outside of Germany. It's a rare sight to see this many 507's in one place! This was a night I will never forget!!

Dackelone














































































































































































New video of that night...

[Dackelone]

And now, some photos of Elvis with his 507 back in his days in the Army while stationed in Germany...

[smellthebeans]

There is some conflicting evidence out there. But a hat tip to Dack on finding this piece of automotive history!

1. The white car may have been leased. The original owner/driver....Hans Stuck!

2. Elvis eventually acquired the red one you see here from the same Dealer and took this one home. He also purchased 2 Isetta's.

3. Elvis originally wanted a Porsche Spyder, but one could not be delivered quickly enough (for cryin out loud they were fabricated by hand...even the body panels!).

A great story here.

-B


http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/....XntprkxT.dpbs

[Dackelone]

@smellthebeans it's my understanding that the first white car that Elvis drove was a leased car from an Austrian dealer called: BMW Glöckler, they had a dealership in Frankfurt as well. Later Elvis drove a red one. BMW said that this red car was originally produced in white. Not sure which color the car will be restored to, though.

Dack

[ron_jeremy]

Great piece of history! Elvis is still the King, so much presence he had!
The 507 looks great for nearly a 60 year old car.
What kind of engine did it have?

[NAV8TT]

Wouldn't that be an old Z4?

[Sean@PSI]

This is so awesome. I love the 507 so much, it is truly one of my top 5 BMWs!

[bradleyland]

That'll buff right out. Interior needs a little work though

Seriously though, that's a car worth close to $2 million in good condition and not having been owned by an iconic rock 'n roll legend. What an incredible find. Wonder who the owner is. Must have deep pockets.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by NAV8TT

Wouldn't that be an old Z4?

BMW roadsters have a pretty cool lineage (the link is worth checking out). With the exception of the Z1 (ugh), you can see pretty clearly where all BMW roadsters draw inspiration from when you look at their history. Pretty cool how BMW carries design language through the years.

To my eye, BMW roadsters draw inspiration primarily from one of two cars: either the 328 or the 507. Like you, I feel that the Z4 draws the most inspiration from the 507. Cars like the E36/37 Z3 roadster drew more from the 328, with their narrower grill and center-swell hoodline. You can still see some of that in the Z4, but it leans more toward the 507, IMO.

[BD SM3RF]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

That'll buff right out. Interior needs a little work though

Seriously though, that's a car worth close to $2 million in good condition and not having been owned by an iconic rock 'n roll legend. What an incredible find. Wonder who the owner is. Must have deep pockets.

I was just thinking the same thing just bust out the Porter Cable

It would be interesting to hear more of the story. How and when did the car go missing and how it ended up in that barn? Very cool.

[3s-a-charm]

Just schlop some Bondo on there and, prime it and take it to the local track days LOL.

I was also fascinated with these pictures and particularly the steering wheel - if you think about it they still carry that design into many of their cars. Very cool!

[2011CrazE89]

Very cool. I can certainly see where my Z4 got its lines from.

[Teutonic]

One of the very very few classics that I would like to own. I truly believe that 507 is an elegant machine.
Never thought Elvis owned one though, what a great story...

[MKE_M3]

Simply too cool

[Feyd]

Love the dealership tag on the back... and the AFB sticker on the windshield.

[GTM_Challenge]

Pretty cool story and car. Be curious to see what state and color they bring this car back to in restoration.

[C230AMG]

I can imagine how much this restoration will cost...

[inFamousKicks]

Definitely a great piece of history

[bimmerjph]

Where was it found?

[Pentium]

my god, this is amazing place to be!
Who is the new owner? and how it was unseen all these years!?

[Cini]

Originally Posted by ron_jeremy

Great piece of history! Elvis is still the King, so much presence he had!
The 507 looks great for nearly a 60 year old car.
What kind of engine did it have?

The engine of the 507 is an 8-cylinder 90°V already present on all BMW luxury of the fifties, the displacement of 3168 cc. Shared with the 502 and the 503, the engine finds its greatest evolution, since it already since the first cars for the European market delivers a maximum power of 150 hp at 5000 rev/min. But for the American market, the 507 arrived to deliver 195 hp.
The last units of 507 left the factory had been improved by the standards of the time: the drum brakes were fitted initially been replaced by disc brakes on all four wheels, and the power was increased to 160 hp at 5600 rpm, which, combined to a draw ratio of 3.42/1, pushing the 507 to 217-225 km/h.
0-100 km/h was achieved in 9.4 seconds

[3798j]

Originally Posted by bimmerjph

Where was it found?

http://ranwhenparked.net/2014/07/24/...-507-roadster/

Always thought the 507 was among the sharpest looking sports cars....ever.