Royal 1959 BMW 507 Roadster Goes Under the Hammer in Monaco
A 1959 BMW 507 Roadster, first owned by Greece’s last king, Constantine II, will be sold by Bonhams at the Monaco Sale at Villa La Vigie on May 11. The auctioneer hopes to fetch anywhere between 2.1 and 2.6 million euros for the roadster, or $2.6 to 3.2 million.
Khodrocar - So, what’s so special about this car to be worth all that money, apart for having been owned by a royal figure? First of all, there haven’t been all that many 507 Roadsters produced. The car was initially planned for the American market, and was created at the request of American importer and automakers influencer Max Hoffman.
The 507 was the open-top version of the 501 and a production run of several thousand units was envisioned at the time of its creation. Because the car turned out to be too expensive, BMW ended up manufacturing only 252 such cars, starting from 1956 and ending in 1959.
The model was supposed to be a serious contender to Mercedes’ 300SL, but came nowhere near the success of the three-pointed star car. By comparison, Mercedes-Benz produced over 3,200 of its car.
But just because they were expensive (at the time, they sold for anywhere between $9,000 and $10,500), they ended up in the garages of people like Greece’s king, Elvis Presley, John Surtees, Fred Astaire, Hans Stuck or Ursula Andress. Of the 252 models built, some 200 are believed to have survived the years.
"The BMW 507 is widely recognised as the car that re-defined the German marque and firmly established it as a creator of top-end luxury vehicles. It perfectly combines striking elegance with sporty performance,” says Bonhams.
"It is not surprising that King Constantine opted for such a sporty car, as he is a very able sportsman. He served in all three armed services in Greece, and won an Olympic gold medal in sailing - the first Greek gold medal in the sport since 1912.”
Source: AutoEvolution
The 507 was the open-top version of the 501 and a production run of several thousand units was envisioned at the time of its creation. Because the car turned out to be too expensive, BMW ended up manufacturing only 252 such cars, starting from 1956 and ending in 1959.
The model was supposed to be a serious contender to Mercedes’ 300SL, but came nowhere near the success of the three-pointed star car. By comparison, Mercedes-Benz produced over 3,200 of its car.
But just because they were expensive (at the time, they sold for anywhere between $9,000 and $10,500), they ended up in the garages of people like Greece’s king, Elvis Presley, John Surtees, Fred Astaire, Hans Stuck or Ursula Andress. Of the 252 models built, some 200 are believed to have survived the years.
"The BMW 507 is widely recognised as the car that re-defined the German marque and firmly established it as a creator of top-end luxury vehicles. It perfectly combines striking elegance with sporty performance,” says Bonhams.
"It is not surprising that King Constantine opted for such a sporty car, as he is a very able sportsman. He served in all three armed services in Greece, and won an Olympic gold medal in sailing - the first Greek gold medal in the sport since 1912.”
Source: AutoEvolution
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