It’s virtually common to see Ferraris and previous Bentleys crossing auction blocks with million-dollar bids, but just one ultra-rare BMW is about to make an appearance, and it is anticipated to draw 7-figure bids. The BMW 507 is a rakish two-doorway motor vehicle created in exceedingly tiny quantities. In September, a special case in point will cross Bonham’s auction block after expending the past four decades of its lifestyle concealed away in a Philly garage.
BMW designed just 252 illustrations of the 507 in between 1956 and 1960, making it a single of the automaker’s rarest and most appealing vehicles. The listing of notable 507 owners consists of Elvis Presley and previous F1 manager Bernie Ecclestone. The early Sequence I illustrations are rarest, as only 34 had been built in the to start with two years of manufacturing. This motor vehicle is a Sequence II, which arrived along in 1957. The updated design showcased a scaled-down gas tank and better trunk area above its predecessor, whose outsized tank confined cargo place and manufactured potent gas fumes in the cabin.
This 507 was purchased new in Caracas, Venezuela, in advance of the present-day owner’s father purchased it in the late 1970s. Rather than push the car, or at least present it off, it invested 43 many years in storage in Philadelphia prior to achieving the auction listings. Apparently, the car or truck is just just one of a lot of 507s owned by the same family.
The car’s leather upholstery is original Bonhams calls the problem “lived-in.” The exterior was repainted in the 1970s with Pontiac Vivid Blue Metallic, and the automobile rides on a established of attractive Rudge wheels. Beneath the hood, there is a 193.3 cubic-inch V8 (just shy of 3.2 liters) that made all over 150 horsepower when new. A ZF 4-speed guide gearbox arrived standard, and the automobile was shown to reach 62 mph from a standstill in just over 11 seconds.
Bonhams estimates the auto will pull amongst $1.8 million and $2.2 million when it crosses the auction block at the Audrain Concours Auction in Rhode Island this September. While we’d hope that the up coming proprietor has an opportunity to drive and demonstrate the auto, its price tag and ailment make it additional probably to see constrained, if any, motion.