John Surtees BMW 507
This BMW 507 is not only a beautiful example of BMW's most rare, elegant and refined sports car from the 1950s, of which only 252 were ever made, it is in fact unique. It is very much 'The John Surtees BMW 507': a uniquely-connected one-owner beauty, now being offered for the very first time at public auction directly from the estate of one of the world's most revered and successful sportsmen - an eight-time World Champion, no less.
The late, great John Surtees CBE was the most competitive man that most figures within world-class motorcycle and motor racing would ever recall having encountered, raced against, or worked with. John Surtees was just unusually intensely driven. And it was this intense drive and focused dedication that earned him no fewer than seven World Championship titles on motorcycles, followed by his 1964 victory in the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship for Ferrari, and his 1966 CanAm Championship win for Lola.
The gloriously handsome BMW 507 Coupé was initially the brainchild of an American, the car importer Max Hoffman who, in 1954, persuaded the BMW management to produce a roadster version of the BMW 501 and BMW 502 saloons. His idea was to plug the contemporary gap between the expensive German Mercedes-Benz 300SL and the cheap and relatively under-powered British Triumph and MG sports cars.
Bonhams will be offering this very special BMW at their upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on the 13th July. Its estimated value is between £2m - £2.2m. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below. Photos courtesy of Bonhams.