Love Me Tender: BMW Restores Elvis Presley's Long Lost 507

There are a lot of crazy stories about iconic cars found in strange places, but this next tale about a BMW 507--believed to be lost for almost five decades --and an American music legend, is one you don’t want to miss.

Not long ago, an iconic BMW 507 driven and owned by the "King" himself, Elvis Presley, was found in a pumpkin factory. The rare find prompted BMW to step in and begin what would become a two-year restoration process.

Can’t help falling in love

The BMW 507 (chassis number 70079) started life as a racecar under driver Hans Struck. After its time on the track, the car was shown off at the Frankfurt Motor Show and used for various other purposes until Elvis Presley test-drove, fell in love, and subsequently purchased it in 1958.

During his military service, Presley drove the BMW 507 around Germany while stationed with the US Army’s 1^st Medium Tank Battalion.

The 507 eventually found its way across the Atlantic to a Chrysler dealership in New York. It bounced around for a while and, at one point, even sported a Chevrolet engine under its hood.

From there, the 507 eventually wound up in the hands of space engineer Jack Castor, who stored the vehicle in a pumpkin factory. Castor had hoped to restore the 507 to its former glory. While he was aware of its racing history under Hans Struck, Castor was only able to speculate about its connection to the “King of Rock’n’Roll.”

Return to sender

It wasn’t until later that a journalist helped uncover the truth of the 507, which then prompted BMW Group Classic to reach out and buy the car with the goal to restore it.

And restore it they did. The entire process took about two years, with the 507 receiving a new BMW engine.  When original parts could not be sourced, a number of reproduced parts were used. BMW even stayed true to classic paint application methods to ensure the car was as close to the original as possible.

BMW did, however, turn to more modern methods as well, and used 3D printing for the vehicle's window winders and door handles.

Sadly, Mr. Castor passed away at the end of 2014, and never got to see the end result.

Last month, the BMW 507 was on display at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. We’re not sure if it will continue to make the rounds, but we encourage everyone to check out the “Holy Grail” of rare BMWs if and when they can.

Image Credit: BMW