After 43 years locked in a Philadelphia storage, this uncommon 1957 BMW 507 Roadster Collection II is headed to a Bonhams public sale in Newport, Rhode Island, scheduled for September 30.

Carrying chassis quantity 70059, this automotive was initially delivered to Caracas, Venezuela, in line with BMW Weblog. It was then bought to a Montreal resident, after which bought by the late father of the present vendor in 1979. It was often fired up, however hasn’t been pushed since then, in line with the public sale itemizing.

The 507 stays in unrestored situation, carrying Pontiac Shiny Blue Metallic paint from a Nineteen Seventies respray, in line with BMW Weblog. However Bonhams says the automotive is in any other case largely unique, with a numbers-matching engine, Rudge wheels, and a detachable hardtop.

BMW designed the 507 to compete within the burgeoning postwar U.S. market, the place it competed towards the rival Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Beautiful bodywork designed by Depend Albrecht Graf von Goertz was paired with a 3.2-liter V-8 that made 150 hp.

Whereas it did appeal to rich house owners, together with Elvis Presley, the 507 was a gross sales flop. With simply 252 made, it is now one of many rarest BMWs ever made. BMW itself struggled within the postwar years, and would not discover stability till it shifted from constructing low-volume luxurious automobiles to extra inexpensive fashions, exemplified by the Neue Klasse sequence of the Sixties.

Bonhams expects this 507 to promote for between $1.8 million and $2.2 million, which would not be out of line with previous 507 transactions. In 2018, the public sale home bought a 507 that belonged to the late Components 1 champion John Surtees for $4.5 million, in addition to an instance beforehand owned by 507 designer von Goertz. That automotive bought for $2.8 million.