How the BMW 507 became the most expensive series-produced BMW
05/17/2021
The price record for a BMW 507 is around 4.5 million euros. This record value was achieved by the car first owned by motorcycle and Formula 1 world champion John Surtees (1934-2017). John Surtees personally collected the car, built in 1957 and chassis number 70067, in Munich and owned it for the rest of his life. The 507 was a gift from Count Domenico Agusta, the boss of MV Agusta, as thanks for the first world championship title that Surtees had won for the Italian company in 1956. The Briton celebrated all seven of his world championship titles with MV Agusta motorcycles.
In the blog from October 1, 2014 , John Surtees showed me his beloved 507 in person, and there was also a 300 SL right next to it.
The Surtees 507 was sold by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018, just one year after his death.
The auction house Gooding&Co has now sold a 507from the second series during an online auction at the beginning of May 2021 (picture above). The car, also painted in silver-grey and with a production date of August 27, 1957, already has the modifications of the changed dashboard and tank position. The car was initially delivered to Italy, but then came to the USA, where it changed hands several times and was completely restored a few years ago. The estimated price was reached with an auction result of 2.2 million US dollars. Converted, this BMW 507 cost 1.81 million euros, not even half the price of the Surtees car. Nevertheless, today a 507 is worth around twice as much as a 300 SL Roadster and John Surtees owned them both. However, he hardly ever thought of it as an investment.
