BMW507

BMW 507 Images

The 507 from the front, the side and behind, in colour and in detail, inside, in its two dashboards of Series I and Series II, and racing up the Schauinsland near Freiburg in 1958.

A white open two-seater seen head-on on a red carpet, its wide flat grille between two round headlamps and a yellow number plate below, with lit letters reading Elvis' BMW 507 on the red wall behind.
Elvis Presley's 507, chassis 70079, head-on under its name in lights at the BMW Museum, Munich, on 15 January 2025, restored by BMW Group Classic in 2014–16 and carrying its 1958 plate A-1499.Steve Jurvetson from Los Altos, USA, CC BY 2.0

These photographs were taken between 2009 and 2026 in Germany, Switzerland, Japan and the United States, and two are older: Willy Pragher's from the Schauinsland hillclimb in July 1958, now in the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg. The car at the head of the page is Elvis Presley's, restored by BMW Group Classic in 2014–16 and photographed in the BMW Museum in Munich in 2025.⁠1

Front view

From the front, the kidney grille lies low and wide between the headlamps, the shape Albrecht von Goertz gave it over the objections of BMW's managers, by BMW's own account of 2004. The white car wears the factory hardtop, which the versions page describes, and the red one is unrestored.⁠2​3

Front view 2

  • A white BMW 507 with a white hardtop on a museum plinth in front of a large wall drawing. Opens a larger view

    1 A 507 with the factory hardtop, from above the left front, in the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, Munich, on 2 August 2016, a drawing of the car on the wall behind.

  • A dusty red BMW 507 with faded paint and red wheels on a blue lift in a museum hall. Opens a larger view

    2 An unrestored red 507 on a lift in the BMW Museum, Munich, on 16 August 2014, from the right front, its paint faded and the windscreen (windshield) dusty.

Picture credits (2)
  1. 1 More Cars from Berlin, Germany, CC BY 2.0
  2. 2 Jiří Sedláček, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Side profile

Seen from the side, the bonnet (the US hood, over the engine) runs long ahead of a short cabin. Denis Jenkinson, who saw the car at Frankfurt in 1955, noted for Motor Sport how closely its aluminium body was drawn round the wheels. Elvis Presley's car stands on centre-lock wheels with eared spinners, the wheels its certificate lists from new.⁠4​5

The white BMW 507 that belonged to Elvis Presley seen from the side on a red platform, with an old microphone on a stand in front.
Elvis Presley's 507, chassis 70079, from the left in the BMW Museum, Munich, on 23 May 2025, on its centre-lock wheels and staged with a microphone prop.Wikisympathisant, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Rear view

Neither car here has a filler cap on top of the tail. With the changes BMW made in June 1957, the fuel tank moved from behind the seats to under the boot (trunk) floor, beside the spare wheel, and its filler from the top of the tail to the right rear wing (fender). The hardtop car shows the tail lamps, the roundel and the chrome handle on the boot lid.⁠6​7​8

Rear view 2

  • A white BMW 507 roadster seen from the rear left on a white show floor, its hood folded under a blue cover, with an ivory steering wheel and twin exhausts. Opens a larger view

    3 A white Series II roadster, by its photographer's title, from the left rear at Grand Basel, Switzerland, on 8 September 2018, the hood (soft top) folded and no filler cap on the tail.

  • The rear of a white BMW 507 with its white hardtop, showing the rear window, boot handle and twin tail lamps. Opens a larger view

    4 The rear of a white 507 with the factory hardtop in the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, Munich, on 25 October 2009, its red cabin and ivory wheel seen through the rear window.

Picture credits (2)
  1. 3 Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. 4 Mattes, Public domain

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Colours

Karlheinz Lange's research, as Bimmer reported it in 2013, lists 29 colours for the 507. Reading the certificate of Elvis Presley's car in 2009, Bimmer called its Feather White "the most popular color for the model".⁠9​5

A silver BMW 507 roadster with a dark blue hood raised, in a brick museum hall.
A silver 507 roadster with its hood up, in the PS.Speicher museum's collection at Einbeck, Germany, on 12 January 2025.Thomas Vogt from Paderborn, Deutschland, CC BY 2.0

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Details

The vent on each front wing carries a BMW roundel. The Becker Mexico radio came out of Elvis Presley's car before its restoration; Bimmer, reading its certificate in 2009, lists a Becker Mexico among its fittings from new. Under the bonnet is the light-alloy V8, with two downdraught carburettors under the twin air cleaners.⁠1​5​6

Details 3

  • The chrome side vent with a blue-and-white BMW roundel on the white wing of a BMW 507. Opens a larger view

    5 The side vent and roundel on the front wing of a white 507 in the BMW Museum, Munich, on 13 November 2014.

  • A worn chrome Becker Mexico car radio with a station dial and two knobs on a red display stand. Opens a larger view

    6 The Becker Mexico radio from Elvis Presley's 507, as it came out of the car before the restoration, shown in the BMW Museum, Munich, on 23 May 2025.

  • The engine bay of a pale blue BMW 507: an aluminium V8 with BMW rocker covers, two round air cleaners and black plug leads with orange boots. Opens a larger view

    7 The light-alloy V8 of a pale blue 507 under its two air cleaners, at the Classic-Gala in Schwetzingen, Germany, on 3 September 2022.

Picture credits (3)
  1. 5 Nathanael Burton, CC BY-SA 2.0
  2. 6 Wikisympathisant, CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 7 Wikisympathisant, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Interior

Every 507 was built with left-hand drive, and the large ivory steering wheel has four spokes in an X. The cockpits here show the trim in mustard, brown and red leather. The red car from Stuttgart has the Series I fascia, without the loudspeaker grille that sits in the middle of the other two.⁠10​11​7

Interior 3

  • The cockpit of a white BMW 507 with mustard leather seats, an ivory steering wheel and a loudspeaker grille in the middle of the dashboard. Opens a larger view

    8 A 507 cockpit with mustard leather seats and the loudspeaker grille in the middle of the fascia, at Sakai, Japan, on 20 October 2013.

  • The cockpit of a black BMW 507 with brown leather seats, an ivory steering wheel and three round dials in a black dashboard. Opens a larger view

    9 A 507 cockpit with brown leather seats and the central loudspeaker grille of the Series II layout, from behind at Retro Classics, Stuttgart, on 27 February 2025.

  • The dashboard of a BMW 507 with an ivory steering wheel, three dials, a radio with ivory buttons and a floor gear lever. Opens a larger view

    10 A 507 with red trim, from behind at Retro Classics, Stuttgart, on 27 February 2025, its fascia with no loudspeaker grille, the Series I layout.

Picture credits (3)
  1. 8 Hunini, CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. 9 Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. 10 Alexander Migl, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Series I and Series II

BMW made a set of changes in June 1957, and the versions page sets out where the line between the series falls and how many cars each side of it the sources count. Inside, the change shows on the fascia. The BMW V8 Club puts the Series I's loudspeaker, on some cars, on the parcel shelf, and the Series II's in a grille in the middle of the fascia, above the radio.⁠6​7​8

Series I and Series II 2

  • The cockpit of a red BMW 507 with black leather seats, a black steering wheel and three dials in a red dashboard. Opens a larger view

    11 The cockpit of a red 507 that its photographer shows as a Series I, on a lawn at Greenwich, Connecticut, on 31 May 2026: no loudspeaker grille in the fascia, and a black wheel in place of the ivory one BMW fitted.

  • The cockpit of a grey BMW 507 with red pleated leather seats, an ivory steering wheel and a loudspeaker grille in the middle of the dashboard. Opens a larger view

    12 A 507 cockpit in red leather at Techno-Classica, Essen, on 8 April 2016, with the loudspeaker grille in the middle of the fascia above the radio, the Series II layout.

Picture credits (2)
  1. 11 Charles from Port Chester, New York, CC0
  2. 12 Andrew Bone from Weymouth, England, CC BY 2.0

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In period

The notable cars page follows Hans Stuck's hillclimbs in BMW's works 507s. At Schauinsland, on 27 July 1958, he won the Grand Tourisme class over 2,600 cc in 70079, the car Elvis Presley bought that December, and Helm Glöckler, son of a Frankfurt dealer that sold BMWs, was third in the class in his family firm's 507.⁠5​12​13​14

In period 2

  • A black-and-white photograph of a BMW 507 with a hardtop and race number 80, registration M-JX 800, parked on a hill road while men in suits and caps stand around it. Opens a larger view

    13 BMW's works car 70079, registered M-JX 800 and entered by Hans Stuck as No. 80, with its hardtop on, among onlookers at the Schauinsland hillclimb near Freiburg in July 1958 (Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Willy Pragher).

  • A black-and-white photograph of a BMW 507 roadster numbered 81 racing past a crowd of spectators on a hill climb. Opens a larger view

    14 Helm Glöckler's 507, No. 81, at speed past the crowd at the Schauinsland hillclimb near Freiburg in July 1958 (Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Willy Pragher).

Picture credits (2)
  1. 13 Willy Pragher, CC BY 4.0
  2. 14 Willy Pragher, CC BY 4.0

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Sources

Every source the site cites is on the sources page.

  • Primarymade at the time, by the maker or by people who were there
  • Referenceserious later work: clubs, specialists, magazines, books
  1. BMW AG (BMW Group PressClub Global), "Elvis' BMW 507 lives on: Comeback at the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach" (press release), Munich, 4 Aug 2016, the restoration of 2014–16; the Becker Mexico radio. press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0262726EN/elvis Primary
  2. Melina Aulinger and Walter Zeichner, "You've got to be lucky", Mobile Tradition live (BMW Group Mobile Tradition), 02/2004, pp. 10–17, p. 14, the flat kidney grille. bmw7er-club.de/interaktiv/download/mobilemtradition_02_04.pdf Primary
  3. Jürgen Pander, "Designer Albrecht Graf Goertz: Paradiesvogel als Retter für BMW", Spiegel Online, 22 Jan 2011, the kidney laid flat and wide. spiegel.de/auto/fahrkultur/designer-albrecht-graf-goertz-paradiesvogel-als-retter-fuer-bmw-a-740328.html Reference
  4. Denis Jenkinson ("D.S.J."), "The Frankfurt Motor Show", Motor Sport, Nov 1955, p. 51, the alloy body round the wheels. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1955/51/the-frankfurt-motor-show Primary
  5. Jackie Jouret, "Elvis' 507: The real story", Bimmer, No. 83, Jun 2009; republished on bimmer-mag.com, 28 Jul 2014, the certificate: Rudge (centre-lock) wheels; the certificate: Feather White, "the most popular color for the model"; the certificate: Becker "Mexico" radio; 70079: M-JX 800; Stuck's 1958 class wins; Wirth, December 1958. web.archive.org/web/2016id_/http://www.bimmer-mag.com:80/news-blog/elvis-507-the-real-story Reference
  6. BMW AG (BMW Group PressClub Czech Republic), "Zeitlose Eleganz: 50 Jahre BMW 507 und BMW 503", chapter of the press kit "Legenden der 50er Jahre: BMW 507 – BMW 503 – BMW Isetta", German, Apr 2005, the changes of June 1957: the tank under the boot floor; the data sheet: the light-alloy V8 and its two downdraught carburettors; the changes of June 1957. press.bmwgroup.com/czech/article/attachment/T0066597CS/96056 Primary
  7. BMW V8 Club Deutschland, "Modellübersicht 503 507 3200 CS", the Series I and Series II tanks; the four-spoke ivory wheel; the dashboards; the Series I and Series II dashboards. bmw-v8-club.de/fahrzeuge/8-zylinder-baureihe/modeluebersicht-503-507-3200-cs.html Reference
  8. BMW V8 Club Deutschland, "Technische Daten 503 507 3200CS", the changes: the filler; the changes. bmw-v8-club.de/fahrzeuge/8-zylinder-baureihe/techniche-daten-503-507-3200-cs.html Reference
  9. Jackie Jouret and Helmut Werb, "507s star at Pebble Beach", Bimmer, No. 119, 25 Oct 2013, p. 8, Lange's 29 colours. bimmer-mag.com/issues/119/articles/507s-star-at-pebble-beach Reference
  10. Alex Harmer, "Sisters under the skin?", Motor Sport, Feb 1987, p. 17, left-hand drive only. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/february-1987/17/sisters-under-the-skin Reference
  11. Sports Cars Illustrated, "Disc-Braked BMW 507" (road test), with the same issue's Frankfurt show report, Dec 1959, pp. 49–51, 104, the X-spoked wheel. archive.org/details/sim_car-and-driver_1959-12_5 Primary
  12. Sebastian Renz, "BMW 507 von Elvis Presley: Das Auto des Kings lebt", auto motor und sport, 16/2014; online 23 Jul 2014, Schauinsland, 27 July 1958. web.archive.org/web/2015id_/https://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/reise/bmw-507-von-elvis-presley-das-auto-des-kings-lebt Reference
  13. Jackie Jouret, "Elvis' Little Sister", Bimmer, No. 143, 20 Oct 2016, Glöckler's 1958–59 hillclimbs. bimmer-mag.com/issues/143/articles/elvis-little-sister Reference
  14. Motor Sport, "International race results of 1958", Jan 1959, p. 31, Schauinsland, 27 July. motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/january-1959/31/international-race-results-of-1958 Primary

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