The BMW 507 roadster, introduced at the 1955 Frankfurt Auto Show, is recognized as one of the most beautiful models that BMW ever produced. Only 252 hand-built 507s were produced, and despite their curb appeal, they were money losers that nearly sank BMW as a company. A 1957 BMW 507, discovered in a Philadelphia garage, sold last month at the Bonhams Audrain Concours Auction in Newport, R.I. for $2.1 million. Read the backstory on this historic BMW.
Here are our “Cars to Watch” for the Gooding & Co. auction at Amelia Island, which features a rare 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C_SS “Teardrop” Coupe, which has a pre-sale estimate of $10 million. This auction promises to be comfortable, casual, fun, and yet classy.
1958 BMW 507 Series II was offered at the Gooding & Company auction and set a world record for the model by selling for $2.75 million (above its pre-sale estimate of $2-$2.5 million).
Car designers may loathe the term “retro,” but when done right, retro can raise pulses. The BMW Z8 certainly raised pulses when introduced for model year 2000 – and it still does today.
RM Sotheby’s, which introduced a curated, art gallery-type presentation for classic automobile auctions with its “Art of the Automobile” sale in November 2013, is holding a second themed sale on December 10 at Sotheby’s New York (1334 York Avenue). Called “Driven by Disruption,” this auction will present a stellar, curated collection
Many auto aficionados no doubt resonate with the idea of a thread running through a carmaker’s timeline and model history, one that then defines the marque’s heritage. Marketing departments sometimes overplay heritage, of course. The best messengers for heritage should be cars that deftly blend a sense of history with their modernity. Call it retro done right.
