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Elvis Presley's BMW 507 to Be Restored by the German Manufacturer

He's one of the most influential cultural icons of the 20th century, the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music and a three-time Grammy winner. Yup, the one and only Elvis Presley. A car aficionado since he was a teenager, "the King of Rock and Roll" owned a red BMW 507 which will be restored to its former glory by the Bavarian carmaker.
Elvis Presley's BMW 507 Roadster 6 photos
Photo: BMW
Elvis Presley's BMW 507 RoadsterElvis Presley's BMW 507 RoadsterElvis Presley's BMW 507 RoadsterElvis Presley's BMW 507 RoadsterElvis Presley's BMW 507 Roadster
Hardcore fans of the King know that apart from his ageless tunes, Elvis was also a petrolhead that loved his cars. Well, not the Ford V8-engined De Tomaso Pantera he shot on several occasions because of engine/electrics failure. Now what about the red BMW 507, what's its story? Although the German two-seater roadster needs some serious cabin and exterior TLC, a new 3.2-liter V8 engine as well as a replacement four-speed ZF manual transmission, the rust-laden BMW is pretty much original.

BMW 507 #70079 has rolled off the assembly line in 1957. The exact date of assembly isn't known, but 34 Series I models were built until early 1957, which means that Elvis' car is a Series II model. That translates to a 66-liter (17.4-gallon) fuel tank and an eight-cylinder mill fed by two Zenith 32NDIX two-barrel carburetors. When it was new, the car could've hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in 11.1 seconds and a top speed of 122 mph (196 km/h). However, the 507 was a very rare beast. BMW built only 252 examples of the breed. Due to its rarity, a good one will set you back half a million dollars these days.

Back in 1959, Stateside dealers were selling the Bavarian ragtop model for $10k, which equals to $80,640 in today's money if you take into consideration an average annual inflation of 3.87 percent. After finishing his army duties in Germany, Elvis took delivery of his red BMW 507 roadster in 1960, with the U.S. army shipping his car. The King sold #70079 in 1962 to Tommy Charles, a Chrysler dealer employee from NY, that took the car down South and swapped the motor for an American-made small-block, while the tranny was replaced with a BorgWarner unit.

The BMW 507 was abused by hillbilly amateur racers until 1968, when the car was bought by an engineer who kept it in storage to this day. This month, the 507 was shipped to BMW's headquarters and will be exhibited at the BMW Museum for a limited time. After that, the Bavarian premium manufacturer will spend as much money and time needed to rejuvenate this legendary German roadster.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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