Gaze at the glory of Elvis Presley’s restored BMW 507 Roadster, heads to Pebble Beach
Elvis Presley might be known as the “King of Rock and Roll,” but he is also known for being a really avid car enthusiast and an individual who wouldn’t be seen in anything less than a fancy Cadillac or Ford. It’s why you think of him when someone mentions a “pink Cadillac.”
While his ownership history consists mostly of gorgeous American land yachts, one unique car he owned was a BMW 507, which he accidentally leased during his U.S. Army deployment in Germany for the price of $3,750 USD, or the equivalent to around $31,300 in modern day money with inflation adjustments. The price for a brand-new 1958 BMW 507 roadster was $7,160 USD, or close to the modern $60,000 value.
That car recently underwent a significant down-to-the-bone restoration through BMW’s Classic center, and the company just revealed the final result.
The story of Elvis’s 507 started when he walked into BMW Glöckler in Germany thinking he was buying a pre-owned white 507. Instead, he accidentally leased the car because he couldn’t understand the contract, which was written in German. He later returned his white 507 to the BMW dealership, to swap into a new red 507.
That red 507 is chassis number 70079, a number considered to be “the Holy Grail among BMW numbers.” Once Elvis’s deployment tour ended in 1960, he returned to the US while bringing the car back with him. Upon arrival, Elvis immediately traded his 507 in for a 1960 Lincoln Continental Mark 5, and car 70079 later traded hands several times. One of the owners was a regional racecar driver in Alabama, who hacked the BMW to accommodate a Chevrolet engine. It was then resold in 1963, and a few times more until BMW collector Jack Castor took ownership of the car.
Castor paired up with BMW journalist, Jackie Jouret, at which point is when the duo discovered the car’s significance.
In 2014, car 70079 was shipped to BMW in Munich in rough shape, but it was there to undergo a complete and thorough restoration through the BMW Group Classic center. There, the car was rebuilt from the ground up and restore back to its original state, original spec 3.2L V8 and all. That engine is something BMW wouldn’t have lying around, so it was made from scratch. The car was also repainted its original Feather White hue.
The fully-restored BMW 507 will be showcased at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance later in the year, but who wants to wait that long to check it out? Head on over to our gallery and see the car in all its glory.
– By: Chris Chin
Source: BMW
Supporting Source: Elvis.com.au
