Elvis isn’t dead ‘cos we heard him on the radio, and now BMW has paid tribute to the King by faithfully restoring a gorgeous 507 roadster that once belonged to him.
Bought by Elvis in 1958 while he was doing his military service in Germany, the 507 - chassis number 70079 - was lost for nearly 50 years until it turned up out of the blue in a shipping container.
Finished in Feather White paint and powered by a 148bhp aluminium V8, Elvis’ car also featured centre-lock wheel rims, a black and white interior and a Becker Mexico radio.
Lost for nearly 50 years
Only 257 BMW 507s were ever built, but the fact that this car was owned by Elvis and also previously driven by German racing driver Hans Stuck easily makes it one of the most valuable on earth.
Reportedly, Elvis was often mobbed by female fans who daubed love notes on the white paintwork in lipstick, meaning that sometime around 1960 he had the car refinished in red to discourage them.
The same year, his military service ended and he shipped the BMW back to the US before trading it into a Chrysler dealer in New York, who then sold it cheap to radio moderator Tommy Charles.
Pretty shifty condition
Charles, unaware of the car’s history, modified it for use as a racing car, before he sold it to engineer Jack Castor in 1968, who put the car into storage for restoration at a later date.
Castor later enlisted the help of journalist Jackie Jouret to contact BMW and find out more about the history of the car, and when its true origin was uncovered he shipped it immediately to Munich.
BMW says that the condition of the car was concerning: although all the original body parts were intact, the roadster had its original engine and gearbox swapped for a Chevy motor.
Completely rebuilt engine
Due to the 507’s rarity, BMW had to re-manufacture many of its parts completely from scratch, with a new instrument panel recast on the basis of the original and new upholstery installed.
BMW made the window winders and door handles via 3D printing processes, and the 3.2-litre V8 engine was completely rebuilt from the ground up using spare parts.
Needless to say, the 507 is absolutely gorgeous in its own right and its remarkable past makes it easily one of the greatest pieces of automotive, and rock and roll, history.
