Start with what the BMW 507 is: a 2-door convertible / Detachable hardtop with 3168 cc M507/1 V8, built from 1956 to 1959, at the height of the post-war boom. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Albrecht von Goertz.
The story
The BMW 507 is a luxury grand touring convertible that was produced by German automobile manufacturer BMW from 1956 until 1959. Originally planned for export to the United States at thousands per year, the car proved too costly, leading to just 252 units produced and major financial losses for BMW. Decades later, however, at least three dozen surviving examples became highly coveted at public auctions, making them the most valuable BMWs ever built in the brand's 100+ year history.
What is underneath
The engine is 3168 cc M507/1 V8. On the scales it comes to 1330 kg. Drive goes through a 4-speed ZF manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2480 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
In the Bmw line-up the BMW 507 has a clear place: it replaced the BMW 328; it handed the line to the BMW 3200 CS / BMW Z8 (spiritual); the factory was Bavaria, Milbertshofen, Germany. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Nissan Skyline, the Fiat 500, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Nearby in the Bmw catalogue sit the BMW 116 and the BMW 269.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the BMW 507 has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.