The Car That Nearly Killed BMW - BMW 507
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Hello! :D
Returning to cars, we look back on the car that nearly caused BMW, one of the world's biggest car companies, to implode. The BMW 507 should have been a winner for the company, a success story that would be remembered throughout the following decades like the Jaguar E-Type and the Aston Martin DB5.
Instead, it was a gamble that went horribly wrong, and it would take BMW almost all of the 1960s to recover from.
All video content and images in this production have been provided with permission wherever possible. While I endeavour to ensure that all accreditations properly name the original creator, some of my sources do not list them as they are usually provided by other, unrelated RUclipsrs. Therefore, if I have mistakenly put the accreditation of 'Unknown', and you are aware of the original creator, please send me a personal message at my Gmail (this is more effective than comments as I am often unable to read all of them): rorymacveigh@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this video are my personal appraisal and are not the views and opinions of any of these individuals or bodies who have kindly supplied me with footage and images.
If you enjoyed this video, why not leave a like, and consider subscribing for more great content coming soon.
Paypal: paypal.me/rory...
Ko-Fi: ko-fi.com/rory...
Thanks again, everyone, and enjoy! :D
References:
- Motor1 (and their respective references)
- Wikipedia (and its respective references)
![Megan Thee Stallion - Neva Play (feat. RM) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TpYTyAaTRts/mqdefault.jpg)
My dad was the Buick dealer in El Paso when is was a kid. I am not sure of the circumstances but a 507 ended up there one day and my dad took me for a short drive in it. It left a lasting impression on me, and defined for me from that day on what a sports car should be.
There was probably a time when you could have bought a used 507 for $1000 or less after she was discontinued and just enough time had passed, similar to my great uncle who picked up a 1937 Cord 810 at a used car lot in Oregon in 1954 for $440...it was just too bad that Uncle Pete at age 19 didn't have the money to restore her at least mechanically.
Hello how are you doing. I believe you are healthy and also having a nice weather where you are. I live in California and I'm looking for a new friend Ok!
Lucky Guy.
In India the classic car culture never really took off until the early 2000s.
Now people are realizing that India too, had an automotive heritage that needs to be cherished and protected.
Cheers!!
507 - one of the most beautiful cars ever produced - achingly beautiful!
I don't see it, myself.
An excellent documentary. Well narrated with no annoying music, just superb photos, well presented at a sensible speed.
You picked up on that as well............... Mr MacVeigh's video is extremely well done. Props to all parties involved.
Oh, yes, NO annoying music!!
A well said German comment lol
@@kajunkat72 Aber sicher!!
when background music is added, a lack of faith in what is being messaged is indicated. thank you to all who recognize this and reward content that does not rely on crutches and gimmicks.
Even if you don't care for BMW overall, you must admit the 507 is just a stunning looker.
Ehh. That depends on the person. It looks good no doubt, but I’d call cars like the merc 300sl gullwing better looking. Maybe it’s cuz I’m a bigger fan of Mercedes lol
leonardimas1 - it definitely looks Italian, probably Peninfarina
@leonardimas1 Design by german Albrecht Graf von Goertz
Spot on, about the only BMW that looks good.
j3y But that’s like the most beautiful car of all time, so it isn’t really fair. But both are beautiful
Great video! The 507 is staggeringly beautiful. I love the fact that you can still see hints of its shape and features in the current Z4.
Sales numbers of many European cars were hurt by absurdly huge importer price markups...
An underpowered 507 for the price of two powerful roomy luxury Cadillacs or 2 Corvettes???
imho its much more beautiful than the z4
The 240Z too. That guy's ideas found their way into a lot of cars around the world.
@@BuzzLOLOL I don't think you watched the video. The importer wanted to sell it for $5K. BMW gave him a car that barely broke even at $10K. He COULDN'T mark them up. Nobody had that much money.
@@mqbitsko25 - Yep... everybody was too greedy if they wanted to mass market it...
Well written, illustrated, and narrated. This little video taught me more about post-war BMW history than anything else I have viewed or read.
I agree. It was not that many years ago that I even became aware of the 507's existence. I thought, "What a success that must have been in the day. How did this beautiful machine stay under my radar for so long? No wonder BMW builds such fine cars, with a history that includes the 507." I thought I was well-informed because I knew the BMW emblem was a stylized propeller from their aircraft days. It's amazing they stayed afloat after that rocky patch.
Funny how the 507 inspired Z8 was similarly gorgeous, blindingly expensive and not terribly well received.
Aye. The Z8 had lousy handling against her too, that not even appearing in a 007 film could negate.
(that said I know of no car from the BMW era of Bond that did any better because of it, because he's always seen as an Aston Martin man)
It was never made to turn a (large) profit - they set a fixed production run / limit when they first announced the car, then allowed Alpina to continue limited similar production, but those aren't "real" Z8's in my opinion.
Made the exact same mistake twice.
507 Thrilling, Z8 Boring.
The Z8 was clearly a styling exercise and an homage to heritage more than anything. I’ve always been curious as to why the Z8 has held its secondary market value, and even appreciated. I suppose the aforementioned, along with limited production, are the reasons. There is an Alpina Roadster currently listed for sale at $498,000.
Having owned several Porsche’s over many years. I recently made a decision and changed to BMW and bought a BMW Z4. I’d always thought that the Z4 was a peculiar looking car, but I can honestly say that, it has brought back the magic and joy of motoring that I had almost forgotten. So I look at this BMW 507 and I can see that the magical nature of driving pleasure has always been there from BMW. Motoring is not just about getting to work and or doing the shopping, it’s about the pleasure of driving something special and the 507 certainly looks fabulous
Richard E. Miranda Jr. Envious????😝😝😝
Richard E. Miranda Jr. Vielen Dank und Ihr Willkommen 😊
@Richard E. Miranda Jr. It's not his fault that you haven't achieved, or acquired, as much as him.
This is really interesting to me - I was actually thinking of going the other way. Having owned a few BMWs - I was thinking of switching to Porche for that more connected drive. Which Porches did you have? I think the minimum I'd consider is a Cayman S.
BettingISbad hey there. In answer to your question. Two 1986 5speed 928S2, a 1990 S4 and a 911 wide Body 3.2RSR. The S4 being my favourite. Wasn’t interested in later models, although the later Caymans are pretty cool though.
It most certainly still is very beautiful. Just like the 300SL, a work of art. Timeless beauty and style!
Definatly up there with the jag E type and Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
It's hard not to see the blatant styling similarities between the 507 and the AC Healey, upon which Caroll Shelby built his world-dominating 427 Cobra. As a certifiable BMW enthusiast, even I didn't know the whole story behind the 507. Well done.
One of the great coupes in automotive history. This is very well done. Slow - but informative. I have an original BMW frying pan. It costs a fortune when I take it in for seasoning.
Fool, season it yourself. Pour some straight 30 in it, and leave it on the driveway for 45 minutes.
Now I'm going to lose my mind looking for old BMW cookware at garage sales :)
It shouldn't need seasoning if you look after it by oiling it each time you use it .You don't deserve it if you cannot look after it .
Jajaajja
You guys are cook ware snobs jjjjjj
The simplistic, calm, and consistent way you present topics is what keeps me coming back to video topics I would otherwise not be interested in or know about. Thanks for your content, keep it up :)
So sad. This madness of cost plus pricing....but hey what a beautiful machine the 507 was...
If they'd sold volume it wouldn't auction for million$ now.
A shame really, it's utterly stunning. It's a shame they couldn't mass produce the body parts.
They should build it today. It would sell out in no time
They could sure as heck do it today.
Bring it back all electric. It would be a niche, but the niche would be comfortable.
At the time, mass production of an aluminum-bodied car was not feasible. Done in steel, performance would have suffered significantly. As it was, the 507 was outclassed for performance by the contemporary 300SL, Jaguar XK 140/150, and Chevy Corvette, the latter two of which were also significantly cheaper.
@@sw651 I would go out and buy one in a heartbeat.
@@luigilamorte7753 One just sold online for $3 million. A nice chunk of change lol
I have been a car enthusiast since my distant childhood in the fifties and never understood why the magnificient BMW 507 had not been a success. Now I have the answer. BTW, I had never heard of the 503...
Same here only early '60s. Though I never studied the 507, I too am shocked to only now learning of the 503. Though it doesn't look very GT-ish to me, I find the coupe to be one of the most understatedly glamorous European cars. Didn't know the M-1 had anything to do with Lamborghini either, and I've only heard of Elvis owning just one 507. Lots to learn yet! : )
I find the 503 much more beautiful than the 507 and also had never heard of it. My favourite BMW is still the 2002 from 1973 though.
@@mariobros7834 Yes! I find the 503 to be more cohesive and balanced proportionally. I had one or two 2002s. I think they started around 1970 or so. Maybe earlier. I forget.
I think that they were asking an absurd money for a performance that didn't live the price they listed it for.
@@gteixeira
The way it was produced made it indeed too expensive...
All I can say is... it looks incredible... I would love to drive something like that.
Get a Z8. Terrific hand built car that continues to appreciate. Only 2700 brought to US.
Sad that this stunningly beautiful car was not a commercial success. Thank you for not playing annoying music on this video, that was not necessary. I'm very glad BMW survived, as I've owned BMW motorcycles for nearly 50 years now, and that obviously wouldn't have been possible otherwise. My first one was an R25/3, I've had several R series twins, and a K100RT which I had to sell as I had become unable to handle the weight. I now have an R75/5, which I like very much. I want to keep this one as long as I can still get a leg over it. Incidentally, I think that the Z4 is a very attractive car, too.
It is now. Selling for $1.5 million or more.
Thank you for your always interesting and serious quality videos. Not trying to be fresh or funny like so many other YT channels makes it relaxing and easy and inspiring to watch
The Z8 is a worthy successor. But that 507 was sure gorgeous. Thanks for the crisp narration.
What a glorious looking car.
Excellent post. I've never seen a finer synopsis of automotive history.
Thanks Ruairidh on this interesting history!
Excellently produced and informative documentary. Thank you for not adding pointless musac. I wish others would learn from your example. Had quite forgotten about this staggeringly good looking car. I want one.
The funny thing is that this model is the most expensive BMW model sold at an auction for a whopping $2.7 million. The white one, owned by Elvis Presley, which is at the BMW museum, is valued at 9 million. Elvis gave it away to Ursula Andress as he didn't like to drive shifters. The irony of this car is beyond me.
Thank you for this beautiful documentary! Well paced, great collection of photos, no distractions, loved every minute of that!
The BMW 503 and 507 were so scarce that hardly anyone in Germany today will know that these cars existed. What have been known till the present days are the "Barockengel" 501 (V6) and then 502 (V8) saloons that were simply too expensive. A Mercedes-Benz 170 and then 180 was just half the price and even the 220 series were cheaper. What really saved BMW was the purchase of Glass in the 1960s with their philosophy of affordable, stylish cars. Glass had started with microcars that could be driven with a pre-war motorcycle license, just as the Isetta. But by the mid-60s that period was over. A younger generation wanted "real" cars and Glass responded to that. Their 1600 and 1700 models were highly successful and when BMW bought that Bavarian company almost all they had to do was changing the "G" in the radiator for their famous "kidneys" and the swirling propellor logo. And do not overlook the small sporty BMW 700 with its two-cylinder , aircooled engine in the back.
The 503 was a beautiful car in its own right! What a loss to motoring posterity. The 507 is something else again: just stunning.
a 1955 507 in good shape on the classic used car market now sells for around $2, 500,000. so it just goes to show, people know a gorgeous car when they see it, no matter what it's sad history.
They're making a second attempt by announcing that they stopped selling cars, and are now fully engaged in the business of selling grilles on four wheels.
Actually doubled volume this century on crossovers & about to do the same on EV.
I saw one of these parked outside my old company during a board meeting. My jaw dropped. I had heard of them and seen pictures but it is even more beautiful in the flesh.
I'm so happy I stumbled upon your channel a few weeks ago. Your videos are truly a nice look at unusual history which is really fascinating, your videos are even interesting to those that doesn't even like history.
A beautiful little car, but my-oh-my wasn't it overpriced? As said elsewhere, an excellent commentary by a genuine human and no music- that made listening so much more enjoyable and so much detail.
It was probably significantly under priced. It would be interesting to know if they ever hoped to break even. Similarly, we're the 5700 or so Z8s sufficient to break even?
The 507 is one of the most beautiful cars I've seen. IMHO!
Right up there with the 57 T-Bird, Jag E-Type, 63 Stingray & Ferrari 308
Interesting, that the BMW 700 went unmentioned in this otherwise excellent documentary. With more than 180,000 units produced, and heavily contributing to the financial turnaround of BMW, certainly not negligible.
Yes the BMW 700 should have been mentioned. It kind of saved the whole company.
Why would it be mentioned? This was about the 507, not the entire BMW line. The only reason other models were mentioned was to allow you to know how BMW got to where it was when it first produced the 507. It never mentioned a particular model that came after the 507 by model, except for the M1. That was mentioned to show how long it was before BMW went back to building a sports car again.
@@mopar_dude9227 Yes, but the video tells the story as if the failed 507 had been the last sporty car by BMW for decades to come. And that is not true. And have a look at the Glass 1600 and Glass 1700 that became BMWs when that other Bavarian company was taken over by BMW. Glass was a too small maker to have a future on its own in Germany. VW bought DKW (Auto-Union) and revived the Audi brand with that (Audi was Auto-Union as well until its end in 1945), Opel was General Motors, Ford was Ford, NSU was taken over by Volkswagen as well, Hansa-Borgward went broke, so did the makers of vans and lorries Tempo, Hanomag and Henschel .
Krupp stopped building lorries, Magirus-Deutz merged with Iveco and Büssing was taken over by MAN.
This is a very well done video. No loud Screaming Acid Rock music, nice smooth delivery with a very good voice explaining this story. If you can find one of these beautiful cars for sale today you will pay around 2.5 million dollars for one!
$5000 was a ridiculous impossible dream.
Hoffman was out of his mind!
High end Cadillac 52 type money...
300SLs were $9000 thru 1963
Ferraris and Maserati $12,000...
Jaguars, 356s ad AC Cobras were $6000 in 1964....
BMW should make a $75,000 continuation 507
As have Jaguar, AC, Aston Marin and many others
Maybe a tuned 3 carb or FI model..
For Historic racing...
IMHO
J.C.
And then in 1963 the e type arrived and shook the whole industry to the core , all for around £2000 nobody came near to competing with it .
1961!
Yet the Corvette, 911 & 230 SL all successful & eventually left E-Type in the dust because Jag let it become outdated.
@@unowen-nh9ov Don't forget Aston Martins either!.
A very informative video. I have a 750i which is my first BMW but, the 507 was simply beautiful and clearly ahead of its time.
Could you imagine if BMW decided to build a modern version with that body design ?
they made the Z8
This looks so much better than the 190SL. More modern, sportier, more elegant.
And the 190SL is already a very good looking car.
Ruairidh, I just discovered your channel. Since I watch a lot of documentaries, I took a look at a few of yours and decided that you have some of the best I have ever seen. As a new subscriber, I will be binge watching all 400+ of your uploads - which should keep me busy for quite a while. I want to thank you for the tons of research you have done... I consider it a public service for education of retired folks. 😉👍
I visited the BMW museum in Munich a couple of years ago & it was the first & only time I’d seen a 507 in the flesh. Just a beautiful car. Quite unfortunate they got the numbers so wrong & there are so few examples remaining.
507 is a beauty. Sadly they still cannot produce a hugely successful 2 door luxury coupe.
Except the M3. 8, 6, i8, all went bust in sales.
Yes, why they've been building them for decades. i8 sold for fraction of Porsche, Ferrari, McLaren hybrids, Audi & Mercedes had no competition, took Honda years to catch up.
Simply breathtaking in all ways. More subtle than Mercedes 300 SL Roadster
Forget the economics. A superb piece of art with timeless beauty. Thanks for the great upload.
Lovely documentry, love the style and the content. 507 a real beauty as was the 503.
I have owned a couple of BMW 2002. It sold worldwide and brought the company back from the brink.
My little 1972 "Flüstern Bombe" saved BMW and it's the car that I wish I was driving today.
Saw one in real-life once, remembered what it was ( built between 1956 to 59).and years later bought one in die-cast and is now proudly displayed!.
I feel there should have at least been a passing mention of the 1959 BMW 700, which was in many ways a critical and highly influential model though it is often forgotten today. It was still a small economy car and used a lot of the 600 mechanicals but it had modern, conventional styling, sold in significant numbers and also laid the groundwork for BMWs modern identity of everyday cars that are fun to drive.
Since it was a unicorn reworking of existing motorcycle tech., really just a glitch in the company's history.
Hard to imagine the world without BMW. My dad traded in his 1974 Cadillac for a new 1977 BMW 633CSi. It was an awesome car, but an unknown entity. A neighbor stopped by while dad and I were washing it and asked "What kind of Toyota is this?". We laughed.
Beautiful car. Maybe it inspired the Fiat Spyder -, then the Lancia Fulvia. There's something about those roadsters. Understatement at its best. Clean and lean.
A concise, yet very informative video. Very enjoyable. The 507 is gorgeous. Thank you.
I was fortunate to see this model at the BMW museum many years ago. It truly is a beautiful machine.
8:37 - "The 507 project was born."
All the history is great, but I came for that one beautiful car. Although the grill lines historical carrythrough was cool.
Even though the 507 wasn’t a commercial success for BMW, if you had bought one of them, it’s worth $2million or more. The Z8 also was not a complete commercial success during the 4 years run, but it has retained its value in the used car market. A 20 year old car that almost pays you to own it and drive it. That’s a great success story in my book!
Z8 sell for more now than they did new.
That's not a success story by anyone's definition. The 507 was a failed design because it failed to sell in the numbers needed due to a multitude of reasons.
I saw one at the Bonham's auction in Monterey a few months back. It wasn't for sale at that particular auction but it did go up for auction at the Bonhams auction in rhode island the past week. It was in remarkable, original condition. It ended up selling for $2.1 million.
Film, The Final Run.
1971, George C Scott.
BMW 503 supercharged.
Cracking good film !.
The actual car in the film turned up in a suburban London scrapyard some years ago.🧐🏴
Wow, did you manage to rescue it?
You craft very fine presentations. Well Done.
The 502 with 8 cylinders and the 507 are the most beautiful cars BMW ever built.
An excellent presentation of a beautiful sportscar ! The only thing I would add is the importance of the 700 in providing funds for the development of the small sedans (1500,1600 7 2002) that put BMW back on solid financial ground.
fully agree , the 700 was not mentioned , and it should have.
Actually new ownership had to arrange finance, BMW were being sold to Daimler for truck manufacture.
I worked on a friend's 1958 507 and did not know that the body was aluminum or that it was a rare car. I wondered why BMW would build a push rod engine instead of an overhead cam engine. I was never a BMW fan but, his 507 is different than most BMW cars and is a nice looking sports car.
Pushrod engines were by all means industry standard in the 1950s, even in europe. The BMW V8 was very much influenced by the Oldsmobile and Cadillac V8 engines, but scaled down and with all-alloy construction, which in itself was almost unheard of.
Can see a lot of the Z3 in that - the side vents and the sweeping rear fenders
The moral of the story, listen to the engineers not the bankers or the marketers.
Max Hoffmann is the one that saved BMW and made them into the desirable brand they are today. He gave BMW sound marketing advice, BMW (initially) did not do what he asked for. The Neue Klasse cars are the cars that saved BMW and later became the 2002. Max Hoffmann successfully marketed the NK cars to the American market and the rest is history.
I don't see how listening to the engineers would have saved BMW. Just like the 2002 was substantially lower quality than the 4-door Neue Klasse vehicles, it sold well and is more desirable to enthusiasts and collectors. I'm sure the engineers had very little to do with international sales rates.
507 only exists for marketing, limited volume halo car.
@@davidparker9676 How is the 2002 "substantially lower quality", it's THE SAME CAR less 2 doors & with 2 litre 4, BMW were UNKNOWN under Hoffman, he was busy selling other brands. It took till the '70's & 3/5/6/7 for BMW to establish a corporate profile here. It was the engineers' work that established BMW, what do you think David E. Davis was writing about?! The styling? Horsepower? Nein!
@@unowen-nh9ov Have you owned both the NK 2000 and the 2002?
My bet is that you haven't.
The NK cars had significantly higher build quality. The cars were more solid, having machined hinges as compared to stamped and rolled ones on the 2002. The interiors were also built to a higher standard with real wood trim accents, machined aluminum knobs for the switches.
I love how you take an editorialized documentary's generic commentary as absolute evidence of your points.
I have owned several BMWs from the 1960s through the late 1990s. I can tell you which models were good and which ones were not. I currently have 2 02's, an e3, e12, multiple e30s. I have had several NK cars as well as the other models between and after the models I listed.
I lost interest in BMWs newer than the 2000s because they are soulless and low quality.
I love the 2002 but I fully understand what it is and what it isn't. It definitely isn't a better-built car than the NK 2000 4-door. There is no metric of quality where the 2002 beats the NK, there just isn't a single one.
@@davidparker9676 Since my 1st BMW was E9 & I have driven most models since then, I know u r volume>content. Obviously not too bright that you fail to understand why BMW sales have been increasing for 60 yrs. Or are 2+ million neu buyers annually just stupid? If you were smart you'd have bought BMW shares> their cars.
Great documentary my man. I am new to this channel but that was amazing. And the 507 is a beautiful car
The Glas evolved first into a producer of motor scooters, then automobiles. It was purchased by BMW in 1966, mainly to gain access to Glas's patents; they were the first to use a timing belt with an overhead camshaft in an automotive application. Its limited model range was shortly phased out by its new parent.The Glas GT models were stunningly gorgeous cars designed by Frua who also designed for Maserati and the later ones carried the BMW badge.
good video - 507s are so pretty, i never realized that they'd hurt the company
People were spoiled kids back then. That model was epic compare to any new car by todays standard.
Years back in a "Cars of Cuba" pictorial was a 507 being used as a daily driver by folks that clearly had little access to information to understand it's rarity. It also had as I recall leather straps holding the hood closed. I know at least one enterprising person was attempting to locater rare race cars left behind in Cuba.
Great video - well done and thank you. Lovely car but simply too expensive.
Excellent and most informative video! Thank you Ruairidh! 😃
That pair of Ford Thunderbirds @5:50 are beautiful cars...a 1957 model with a supercharged 312 is the way to go...🤘🏻🇺🇸
Bought my wife a BMW 335d a few years back... Nice car, but in the end, my impression is that if you buy a BMW, you should sell it as soon as (or before) the warranty runs out because regardless of how few miles you have on it at that time, there will be an expensive repair coming up that seems to be pre-programmed to happen after however many years are on the warranty.
I have a 19 year old Z8 with 13000 miles. Nothing has gone wrong. Replaced battery and tires. Terrific car to drive. Worthy successor.
@@miketierney7 -- With only 13K miles during 19 years, one might argue that you don't even NEED a car... :)
Maybe you meant 130K?
If so, then you would be one of the lucky ones... I've known a couple of other people whose BMW had a rather expensive repair come up right after the warranty was up. On the other hand, the 2 Porsches that we've owned over the years were very dependable...
Marvellous outline given here of a car I had not even been aware; but how beautiful.
Really have to admire the way that BMW scraped itself together after the war, and then survived this commercial setback.
Without wanting to attract any tub-thumping, I'm forced to ask that same old question: what is it about German manufacturing that gives it such an obvious edge over British makers?
Wow, this is one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen.
8:38 I hope that scale model made it to a museum somewhere and not tossed in a dumpster.
A suburb documentary on BMW. It was the manufacture of these beautiful cars after the war when money was scarce that was BMW’s downfall. The company being saved by the introduction of the Isetta.
Since they had no factories & their tech. went to reparations (EMW, Bristol), they did pretty well. Whether '30's British Dixi or '50's Italian Isetta, BMW became a manufacturer building others' products under license, this led to them engineering 328 & 1500.
Thank-you for posting. Very interesting and informative.
I would LOVE to own a 507!!! Very pretty. I would really dig an Isetta for gettin' around town. Always liked the late 50s and early 60s for car design, as the manufacturers were unfettered from all of the regulations they deal w/ today. All of the greatest muscle cars from the US and Europe were created and made during those times and are the icons of the automotive world still today. My favorite automobile of that era was the Chevy Corvair, due to its rear wheel independent suspension and aluminum boxer, air cooled engine, that made it a perfect sports car platform, to those that understood its potential. Before any one was talking about the mid-engined exotics, folk were mounting V8s amid ship and turning the mundane Corvair into a true track monster. Even w/o the mid-mounted mod, they were the first Yenko cars and were massaged into stout track cars that came w/ up to 225 HP from the 2.7 liter boxer six engine, and weighed in at a mere 2700 lbs. Only the Mazda Miata (affectionately called "skateboards" by its owners/enthusiasts) can boast that light a curb weight today.
Imagine a kit car with a 507 body of carbon fiber, an aluminum tube frame and an RX-7 motor. There used to be just such a kit, called the Rotus.
Beautiful car even now.the colour on this particular car is very unique too.
I wasn't expecting an entire history of BMW.
0:47
Now, that's ugly!
Why the mismatched grills?
He forgot an important part, namely the BMW 700, a smal ponton type car replacing the Isetta and won for a while races at the Nürburgring before beaten by the Glas 1204 who inveted the timing belt. Only after the 700, the new versions of full size sedans started, beside end of 1968 or so the Deutsche Bank wanted to squash BMW when Herbert Quandt stepped in and took over. his son and daughter Susanne are now major share holders.
Great work and presentation, I hadn't heard of this story. That hand fitted aluminum frame was a big mistake, they obviously should have taken the weight hit with steel and kept the price down to the target.
The 507 was a stunning automobile. But there was absolutely no hope for it; the asking price was just far beyond the means of prospective buyers.
Beautiful little Roadster . Almost Italian , but without the Flash . Suitably Understated .
My father owned a black 507 that he brought back from Germany. It was later featured on the Mar, 1962 cover of Road & Track. He always owned BMWs and made his kids drive them, too (Poor spoiled brats😆). In 1969, he bought a new Maserati Ghibli at a European auto show and brought it back to the US. However, he had to have it updated to American safety standards. He later gave it to me, but I already had a beautiful 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix that I ordered just before I returned from Vietnam. So, I gave him back the car after I learned how much insurance would cost. Also, I had a 3 year old.🤪 Thanks for the very nice and informative presentation🏆
BTW: The Corvette was not intended to go up against real performance sports cars. Just the styling and fun to drive on American highways. Of course purists didn't understand the concept, that the typical American drivers wanted style and a fun experience. The majority of today's American highways are motored by comfy cars with relatively economical engines with ATs.
Intersting that the early model was an Austin A7 built under licence. I've frequently seen wartime cars on tv with the distinctive split grille thinking it was a BMW only to discover it was an Austin. What I find interesting is that BMW are still using related grilles to this day! Who'd have thunk it!
In the BMW museum is one in the so called treasure chest
and they claim they never thought it would become such
a high remarked classic later. The same the beautiful E9
E9 facelifted evolution of existing 4 cyl., just as 507 sedan based, BMW a small co. who had to make use of limited resources, why New Class went on for a decade.
BMW was all about affordability & reliability. Only 50s kids remember
A few, BMW weren't even global then.
USA: That 300SL sure is nice. But it costs $10,000! Hey, BMW, can you build a 2-seat sports car for $5,000?
BMW: Sure can!
[1 year later]
BMW: Here is your sports car!
USA: It's beautiful!
BMW: It costs $10,000.
USA: ... Imma gonna just buy a 300SL instead.
That was one gorgeous looking car.
It is unfortunate that you omitted their 700 models "S" and "L" which really were the transition between the Isetta and their series. I did drive a 700L and just loved it.
What’s up with awful 3 second silence breaks, it’s almost anxiety inducing
In my opinion that is the most gorgeous car ever built.
*_ONE_* of the most gorgeuous ever build I would say. ;)
Mk2 jag has that privilege
@@18dot7 Agree.
0:54 It's cool to know what BMW actually stands for! For the longest time, I thought it was Bavarian Motor Works...
When the Z8 came out, it was also hugely expensive, and very stylish, with exquisitely crafted features. The British motoring press slagged it hard!
And the price of those now! They’re like hens teeth and they cost a small fortune.
@@jixuscrixus1967 They were $132,000 in 2000, 01, 02 and 03. The 2003 Alpina version sold for $135000. Today you can find a Z8 in the $150-300,000 range depending on miles and color.
The 507 is amazing looking in thAt dark color with all that chrome.
Unusually for BMW they actually managed to produce a nice looking car.
@leonardimas1 Albrecht Graf von Schlitz genannt von Goertz von Wrisberg? Doesn't sound very italian to me
I leased a 2006 BMW 7 Series (F01) in 2006. It was a major lemon. The transmission had so many problems that the dealership replaced it. The brakes squealed like a pig and could never be resolved. The air conditioning failed after 6 months. And then there were the overheating problems. Fortunately, I was able to return it and break the lease. Everyone tells me my BMW experience is an exception. Exception or not, I have a very dim view of BMW. I guess I'm just not entitled enough to drive one.
Since they sell over 2 million annually around the world I don’t know entitlement has anything to do with it.
While hindsight is always 20/20, it's hard to see how they got so far down the line of bringing the 507 to the market before realizing the difference between $5k and $9k selling price. $4k was a lot of money back then and put the vehicle in a completely different market sector.
Hindsight is always 20/10. Normal vision, 20/10 is perfect vision. Your pedantic entry of the day.
It sounds unbelievable that they didn't know that hand-crafted aluminum panels were going to increase the cost so dramatically.