Elvis Presley once owned a BMW 507 Roadster that almost vanished for 50 years, but the German company managed to find it and restore it to its former glory.
Elvis’ BMW was thought to have disappeared, but the car with chassis number 70079 was found and will be publicly exhibited at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It took BMW Classic’ technicians two years to painstakingly restore this model to its original condition.
As you can observe in this extensive photo gallery, the car used to be red, even if the vehicle was originally ordered in “Feather White.” Delivered to Elvis on 20 December 1958, the car was bought to be used by Presley during his service at a U.S. Army base in Germany.
The King of Rock’n’Roll was evidently famous in the 507’s fatherland, and the young GI was overwhelmed with attention from his female fans, which often left messages with lipstick on his car. Elvis cleverly decided to paint the car red, and even took the car back stateside in March 1960, after he ended his military service.
Just a few months later, The King traded it in at a Chrysler dealership in New York. Without hesitation, the said dealership sold the car to a radio moderator named Tommy Charles, who began a successful racing career with the vehicle that he purchased for the equivalent of $4,500 in today's money.
Interestingly, this example’s racing career did not begin with Charles, but with legendary driver Hans Stuck, who had driven the car months before Presley acquired it.
The same chassis number and the license plate was documented to have been shown in the feature film “Hula-Hopp Conny,” and had also seen service as a press vehicle after it was exhibited at the 1957 Frankfurt International Motor Show.
When BMW got the car back, it had lost its original engine, transmission, and rear axle. Surprisingly, all body panels turned out to be original. BMW restored the car to Concours condition, so the German company has decided to show it first in the USA, where its most famous owner lived most of his life.
As you can see, specialists at BMW Classic have done a superb job with the 507 Roadster, which is is now priceless considering its unique history of ownership and existence.
As you can observe in this extensive photo gallery, the car used to be red, even if the vehicle was originally ordered in “Feather White.” Delivered to Elvis on 20 December 1958, the car was bought to be used by Presley during his service at a U.S. Army base in Germany.
The King of Rock’n’Roll was evidently famous in the 507’s fatherland, and the young GI was overwhelmed with attention from his female fans, which often left messages with lipstick on his car. Elvis cleverly decided to paint the car red, and even took the car back stateside in March 1960, after he ended his military service.
Just a few months later, The King traded it in at a Chrysler dealership in New York. Without hesitation, the said dealership sold the car to a radio moderator named Tommy Charles, who began a successful racing career with the vehicle that he purchased for the equivalent of $4,500 in today's money.
Interestingly, this example’s racing career did not begin with Charles, but with legendary driver Hans Stuck, who had driven the car months before Presley acquired it.
The same chassis number and the license plate was documented to have been shown in the feature film “Hula-Hopp Conny,” and had also seen service as a press vehicle after it was exhibited at the 1957 Frankfurt International Motor Show.
When BMW got the car back, it had lost its original engine, transmission, and rear axle. Surprisingly, all body panels turned out to be original. BMW restored the car to Concours condition, so the German company has decided to show it first in the USA, where its most famous owner lived most of his life.
As you can see, specialists at BMW Classic have done a superb job with the 507 Roadster, which is is now priceless considering its unique history of ownership and existence.