Racing legend John Surtees 1957 BMW 507 Roadster for sale by Bonham's

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Anyone has a few millions to spare?

This beautiful 1957 507 roadster with impeccable provenance from the late John Surtees (who owned it from new) is to be offered by Bonham's at the Goodwood festival of Speed this July.

Who knows what amount it will fetch, but I reckon way more than the average $2.5 Million these beauties usually go for. I reckon it's the world's 2nd most valuable 507, just below the Elvis' owned by BMW...

Link to Bonham's: https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/248...ngth=10&page=1

Below: story by The Drive: http://www.thedrive.com/news/19419/r...o-be-auctioned


Rare BMW 507 From Legendary Racer John Surtees to Be Auctioned

Straight from the estate of the late, great, record-breaking John Surtees, this one-owner 1957 BMW 507 Roadster is slated to cross the auction block at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale July 13.

Acquired new by Surtees, the 507 remained in his possession up until his passing last March. But this wasn’t just your straight off the lot purchase. With a steed this beautiful comes an equally gorgeous tale.

The story goes that Surtees, nicknamed "Il Grande John" by fans, was the reigning 1956 500cc Motorcycle World Champion at the time while riding for the Count Domenico Agusta’s MV Agusta factory team. It was then that he spotted BMW engineering director Alexander von Falkenhausen and the ever-elegant 507.

As fate would have it, Count Agusta had mentioned to Surtees that he would like to give him a congratulatory reward for taking the World Championship.

Bonhams regales how the deal went down. Surtees mentioned the 507 to the Count, whose response was inevitably, "What's the price?" And when Surtees let on that the BMW was more than $4,000, they decided to split the cost 50-50. Still, quite the handsome reward.

After the ‘56 victory, Surtees's status only gained more momentum down the road of legends. He would win three more 500cc World Champ titles with Agusta, only to transition to Formula 1 racing in 1962 with Ferrari and take the Drivers’ World Championship title in 1964.

Although in '62, when Surtees arrived at the Maranello factory, Enzo Ferrari announced that Ferrari drivers were banned from driving German cars and insisted that he roll in a Ferrari instead. Surtees complied. But when he got his first paycheck, the racer said, "I found The Old Man had the price of the new car deducted from my fee!"

Despite the conflict of interest snag, Surtees held on to the two-door classic and continued to drive it after leaving the team until his passing.

Today, the stunner is one of just 252 models ever made. Still pristine, V-8-powered, and topping out at 124 mph, at just $2.8 million this pale blue wonder is in search of a new, very lucky home.

High res pics from Bonham's

[RABAUKE]

Beautiful car with great history......I'd like to bid but I seem to be a bit short of funds right now

[1MOREMOD]

Outstanding

[DanG]

Beautiful rare car in excellent condition. Thanks for sharing.

[ShakyDog]

Wow, I would love to be able to own this, Surtees, 507, coupe, red interior, just awesome.
Blows away Elvis to me.


Steve

[Jobe.]

Whoa!

I was going to offer my kidney, but I think that still wouldn't be enough to buy it...

[uniqueMR]

Flawless...

[overcoil]

Has the car ever been restored ? If that car had never been through a restoration then it is really in unbelievable condition, the best classic are the ones that run look good and all original or very minimal restoration.
That side profile picture.

[tom @ eas]

Beautiful, work of art.

[ThugzZ BunnY]

is the red mesh square in the dash a speaker?

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by ThugzZ BunnY

is the red mesh square in the dash a speaker?

Yes indeed.

This is a super nice 507 !

[MalibuBimmer]

If I win the lottery between now and the auction I will fly to England and buy it. I am willing to go $5 million.

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

If I win the lottery between now and the auction I will fly to England and buy it. I am willing to go $5 million.

Screw that dump that property in Nevada and hit the PCH for an early morning drive.

Done!

[amrh]

Truly beautiful car.

If it only it went up for sale a couple of months ago, when I was looking for one.

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Has the car ever been restored ? If that car had never been through a restoration then it is really in unbelievable condition, the best classic are the ones that run look good and all original or very minimal restoration.
That side profile picture.

It looks original just nicely kept.

It needs some extra love but it truly is an outstanding example.

[DCG]

Now that's a snazzy car! Shear class!

Hard top, me likey.

[c63er]

What an outstanding car. When BMW brought back this cars soul in the form of the z8 and z3, the future was so bright for BMW. What a time and what a company. This car gives happiness to so many of us who know what cars are all about. Fun.

Now we have a bastard child with Toyota that looks as un BMW and un German as you can get, built on a shared platform with parts wearing the Z name. A shame. A car conceived not for fun but to generate profit. No wonder people don't look at z cars with the same excitement

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Originally Posted by ORIGIN M.

It looks original just nicely kept.

It needs some extra love but it truly is an outstanding example.

Originality are all the rage now in the world of car collecting. Expect this one to bring big bucks!

[Paul-Bracq-BMW]

Originally Posted by MalibuBimmer

If I win the lottery between now and the auction I will fly to England and buy it. I am willing to go $5 million.

Good luck!, but I reckon this car may be a world record for a 507 because of 2 things: the Surtees provenance of course and the original, non restored condition. Hard top, attractive colour schemes (exterior and interior) are to be taken into consideration too... So maybe $5 million, as ludicrous as it sounds, may not be enough! Cheers!

[MSCD]

Agree, beautiful looking car. I'll be in the UK later this year so may start a gofundme

[vasi_M3]

If I had to show off my wealth, which is the only reason to buy the car, this would not be in my top 10....I think someone with only $2-3 mil in their pocket that enjoys driving cars would definitely spend their money differently...but I love the looks of the 507

[GeeRam]

Originally Posted by ScottSinger

Has the car ever been restored ? If that car had never been through a restoration then it is really in unbelievable condition, the best classic are the ones that run look good and all original or very minimal restoration.

Nope, all original I believe.

John was a brilliant and fastidous Engineer, as well as a great rider and driver, having done his engineering apprenticship at the Vincent Motorcycle factory, not to mention later running his own Surtees Formula 1 team.
That's why his 507 is in the condition it is.

I saw this car at Goodwood about 6 months before I ordered my E82 135i, and this 507 in this colour combo was the reason I ordered my 135i in Bluewater with Coral Red interior, my homage to this 507
It tuned out to be the only 135i ever sold in the UK in that colour combo.

I wonder if BMW themselves might bid on it?