Classic & Sports Car (UK) - November 2005

BMW Profiles 9: The Legendary BMW 507 review from Classic & Sports Car (UK), November 2005

BOOK OF THE MONTH

The Legendary BMW 507

"BMW's heritage wing has excelled itself with its ninth Profile. It's no sepia-tinted rewriting of history either. Dr Lange recounts, in detail, the car's tortured evolution?first as the 528, under former Veritas boss Ernst Loof, then as the 507. Work on the 528 progressed well, he explains, . until US importer Max Hoffman got involved. He reckoned the car wouldn't appeal to American tastes and roped in Albrecht Graf Goertz to sketch alternatives. Just 20 weeks later, in March '55, the Goertz 507 was accepted.

Development didn't go smoothly, as then head of motor sport Alex von Falkenhausen's test notes recall: 'Acceleration is markedly inferior to the 528, which is almost 200kg lighter. Even moderate loss from the radiator can lead to overheating, because the hose to the engine is below the radiator's minimum water level.' Yet it's the wonderful archive photos that set it apart. Everything is included in 270-plus pages, such as the 528 being crafted at Baur, its low-key debut at a concours in Bad Neuenahr and the 507's winter tests - even competition shots - plus short biogs of all the key players with a period portrait, ads and a colour chart (with numbers made in each). Remarkable, even by Mobile Tradition's high standards, but expensive."
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