If I were building a Jay Leno like garage, I would include one of the rarest BMWs — the 507.
The roadster was produced by BMW from 1956 to 1959, and only 252 cars were sold over that three-year run. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being way too expensive, making it a sales failure, creating heavy financial losses for BMW.
The aluminium body was mostly hand-made. Weighing 2930 pounds, it was lightly powered with a 150/160 horsepower V8 engine. Its 0-60 mph time was 11.1 seconds, and it had a top speed of 122 mph. Only 11 removable hard tops were sold, the 507 ends up with having two profiles: no top, and the very handsome looking GT with the hardtop on. The closest modern car that is similar to 507 you can still drive is the BMW Z8.
US importers had originally projected BMW could sell these for $5,000 each, leading to sales of 5,500 units per year. The expensive materials and bespoke hand assembly made 507 sell for closer to $10,500, making it overpriced and out of reach for most consumers.
Elvis Presley owned a white one, but women ended up leaving red lipstick marks on it (!), so he had it repainted red.
You could have picked one of these up in the 1990s for well under $100k — they now regularly go for $1 to – 2 million dollars. This one went for $1,957,507, with that “507” at the end of the bid price a nice touch.
Source: Bring A Trailer
