THE 507 SHOULD BE CONSIDERED PRICELESS

+ Click to Enlarge OLD SHARK-NOSE: This BMW 507, one of BMW's revered golden oldies' collection in Munich, Germany, is valued at around R16.3-million. Images: JESSE ADAMS

November 12, 2009
By Jesse Adams

Driving expensive new cars is one thing but driving valuable old ones is something else altogether. I mean, cracking a windscreen on an Aston Martin DBS would, besides being a major bummer, require only a trip to the parts counter.

Damaging a pristine BMW 507, however, would be grounds for excommunication from society. Sacrifice me to the motor gods and feed-me-to-the-volcano stuff.

This car, part of BMW's collection in Munich, Germany, is valued at around R16.3-million when converted from Euros. However, only 251 were assembled from 1956 to 1959 so the car should be considered priceless.

It's the kind of car usually rubbed down daily with a fresh nappy and carnauba wax but, because our local BMW PR guy asked so nicely, it was pulled out of mothballs and prepared for a jaunt around southern Germany with yours truly at the wheel.

There is undeniable beauty here and 507 customers such as Elvis Presley, Ursula Andress and John Surtees would agree. It was designed by Albrecht Goertz, who thought up lines for other phallic shapes such as Datsun's 240Z and Toyota's 2000GT, and was intended to compete with Jaguar's far cheaper XK140 and Mercedes' similarly priced but much more common 300SL.

Yet it's not just a pretty face, as I learned when a BMW staffers who looked old enough to have worked on the 507's design team fired up the Z4-sized convertible in preparation for our trip. Just like that old tale of the mouse that scared away the lion with a ferocious roar, the 507 sparked to life with a flinch-inducing bellow seemingly far too loud for its size.

I'm well acquainted with many roadsters of this era -Triumphs, MGs and even Austin Healeys - but this BMW punches way over its weight in terms of exhaust note and decibel levels.

Under the bonnet is a smallish 3.2-litre V8 that makes only about 112kW but has a high compression ratio and straight exhaust pipes so it's very vocal - comparable, perhaps, with Chevrolet's modern six-litre Lumina.

Converting petrol into a glorious eight-cylinder symphony is by far the best part of driving this legend and I found myself blipping the throttle, downshifting, upshifting and everything else for no other reason than to hear its song.

The cockpit is typical of two-seaters of its era when large, thin-rimmed steering wheels sat far too close to the seat to allow graceful entry.

Once in, a slightly leg-spread position is required because the bottom of the wheel invades the space adjacent to your crotch, so keep your hands at ten-and-two. No, make that one hand at 12, the other perched on the door frame.

The gearshifter protrudes from the floor near your feet and makes a major S-bend to bring a white plastic knob closer to hand. There's a lot of play, especially in neutral, but engage the soft hydraulic clutch and there's no doubt when and where one of the four forward gears is locked and loaded.

SHEER DRIVING PLEASURE

The 507's drive is very civilised, except for the awkward driving position, and, much like mdern BMW's, everything from throttle input to the way the brake pedal hinges is very supple and natural.

Porsches of the time had offset, floor-mounted pedals and 1950's Alfa Spiders suffered from terrible resistance between the accelerator and carburettor but BMW's "Sheer Driving Pleasure" was born in the 507.

At the time, a 10-second 0-100km/h sprint and a top speed of 200km/h were big deals. I'm not saying that I didn't get goosebumps driving this car but it was because of the exhaust note and not adrenal gland-tickling performance.

Try to imagine driving a 1.6-litre Mazda MX-5 but with the growl of a Nascar and you'll get the idea. No wonder Elvis and Surtees modified their roadsters for more power.

OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME

The 507's chassis is simply a square frame with four wheels attached and an aluminium body sculpted on to it. Don't expect it to rival modern convertible marvels such as today's Z4; the underpinnings of the 507 came from the big 501 sedan and were never designed to handle the lack of rigidity caused by the lack of a roof.

This roadster creaks and flexes when asked for more than a simple change of direction, but really... who cares when this it's one of the most beautiful cars in the world?

It's also one of the most rare and valuable, a car every enthusiast should get to drive, but never will.

Thank you, BMW, for the opportunity of a lifetime. - INL Motoring