This is another fantastic story where car icons intersect with the life of the stars, get to know the fantastic BMW 507 that was owned by the King of Rock. More than a heartthrob of unquestionable talent and success, the King of Rock proves that he was also a “petrolhead” with refined taste.
After World War II ended in 1948, BMW was undoubtedly a different company. The war effort had led the Munich construction company to abdicate all its expertise in automobile manufacturing, to concentrate solely on manufacturing engines for German military aircraft, as was the case with the Focke-Wulf FW 190 fighter, equipped with an engine 14-cylinder BMW 801. There remained the motorcycles to boost the company and prepare it to rise from the ashes.
SEE ALSO: The history of the BMW 8 Series, with video and everything.
Later in 1953, and thanks to the North American BMW importer Max Hoffman, in a conversation with Ernst Loof, he launched the idea that there was room in the market for a sporty 2-seater model that would be able to regain the fame of the BMW 328 of the years. 30. Loof had been responsible for the design of the racing BMW 328 Veritas Sport and 328 racing cars, which enjoyed sporting successes in the 1940s and early 1950s.
That same year Loof approached BMW and offered to help develop a new sports car for the Bavarian brand. With the green light from BMW chief engineer Fritz Friedler, Loof went ahead with his project and was given none other than Baur's studios in Stuttgart to assist him in such a task.
In 1954, the model that came out of Loof's vision was presented at the German Elegance Contest, having gathered the total consensus of the public.
But it would be Graf Albert Goertz who would take the final project. Graf had been recommended to BMW by Hoffman and after seizing on similar Loof designs, Graf's wind-tunnel-tested model would eventually garner BMW's final approval. Thus was born an icon, the BMW 507, a model that would be the star of the international motor show in 1955, with its 3.5l V8 engine and 150 horsepower at 5000 rpm.
DIGITAL WORLD: The BMW Vision Gran Turismo represents the essence of M POWER
But unfortunately the BMW 507 was not a rival to the Mercedes Benz 300SL when it came to performance. The positioning of the BMW 507 eventually elevated itself to the status of a sports car with an exceptional level of luxury and elegance.
Let's go back to the story that brings together colossus sizes from different areas, the King of Rock Elvis Presley and the BMW 507. In 1958 Elvis became a recruit for the US Army, having served as a soldier in the group of paratroopers.
It is precisely at this time, as a soldier in training and deployed in Germany until 1960, that Elvis comes across one of the most beautiful cars produced by BMW, which can be said to be true love at first sight, as the BMW 507 owns lines timeless, with a silhouette that would have made any petrolhead succumb to its extremely elegant forms.
The rest goes down to history and can be fully known until August 10, 2014, at the BWM museum in Munich, in an exhibition entitled “Elvis 507: Lost and Found”.
In addition to being able to contemplate such a rare model, in a deplorable state of conservation, BMW also presents all the myths surrounding the 507, where the best of everything about Elvis' BMW 507 will end with a happy ending: it will be restored back to its old glory.
A piece with a unique history, which traces much of what BMW's origins are and why they produce exceptional cars, as not even the big international stars could resist it, we remind you that the last BMW 507 was sold at auction in the elegance contest Amelia Island, for an impressive 1.8 million euros.
