A €2 million BMW abandoned in a barn for 40 years

An exclusive BMW 507 has been found in a barn in Philadelphia (USA) where it has spent the last 40 years without being driven for more than a few rare occasions.
The BMW 507 was conceived in 1954 by Max Hoffman, an American car importer, with the idea of entering the luxury sports car market with a vehicle halfway between the exclusive and very expensive Mercedes 300 Sl and the more economical and much less sporty British Triumph and MG. To this end, he convinced the Bavarian company’s management to build the roadster, the exterior design of which fell to Albrecht von Goertz, while the chassis was designed by BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler.

Only 252 examples of the 1957 Series II Roadster were produced. The 507 made its official debut at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in the summer of 1955, with production beginning in November 1956. The company’s intention was to market the car for around $5,000, which would allow a production run of 5,000 units per year, but high production costs pushed the final price to close to $10,000 and the roadster was a commercial failure. Even so, the BMW had famous owners such as Elvis Presley, who bought one while doing military service in Germany, and King Constantine of Greece.

The vehicle found in Philadelphia, a Series II, was sold in Caracas, and after almost two decades on Venezuelan roads, it ended up in Montreal, where it was acquired by the father of the current owner.

But the owner of this roadside gem stored it directly in a barn on his property where it has remained unused for 43 years.

Despite little maintenance, the car’s bodywork remains largely intact and the leather interiors are in good condition. The exterior underwent a colour change in the 1970s and has retained its “Pontiac Bright Blue Metallic” colour ever since. It retains the original hard top

The car will be offered for sale in September by Bonhams US Motor Cars auction company, which expects the car to fetch between $1,800,000 and $2,200,000. A unique opportunity, if you have that kind of capital, to get your hands on a piece of world motoring history.

View list of all BMW Classics produced

Fotos:Sports car digest.