Professional restoration brings Elvis Presley’s BMW back to life after 50 years
- This iconic car once belonged to the king of Rock’n’Roll
- It was discovered in a barn in 2009
- BMW reached out to the owner and helped restore it to its original condition
Published on Jul 30, 2024 at 3:01 PM (UTC+4)
by Nalin Rawat
Last updated on Jul 30, 2024 at 6:19 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
After spending years in a dusty American barn, the iconic BMW 507 belonging to Elvis Presley has been fully restored in Munich.
After its discovery in 2009, nearly 50 years after its disappearance, the iconic roadster faded from its original glory.
However, the BMW Group Classic spent four years restoring the sports car to its original condition.
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Elvis Presley and his iconic BMW 507
The king of Rock’ n’Roll, Elvis Presley, had not one but two major love affairs during his military service in Bad Nauheim, Germany.
One of them was his future wife, Priscilla, while the other was the iconic BMW 507 Roadster.
He also took the roadster back home after ending his military in 1960.
However, Elvis had sold the car to a Chrysler dealer in New York.
And 50 years later, the BMW 507 roadster was found in a pumpkin warehouse near San Francisco.
The restoration
After years of back-and-forth negotiations with BMW’s restoration experts, Klaus Kutscher and Axel Klinger-Köhnlein, the owner agreed to sell the roadster to BMW Group Classic.
However, restoring the BMW 507 roadster took four years as it was in quite a rough shape.
“The dashboard was cut and they had other instruments also in the car. They cut the frame. The car was painted twice, then black, and then after that again in red. Then the car [had] . . . a big accident,” said Kutscher.
With only 254 BMW 507s having ever been produced, genuine parts for the restoration project were also non-existent.
However, with time, BMW restored the car to its original condition.
Over the years, people have found many vehicles belonging to Elvis Presley in their possession.
One of them was a Cadillac DeVille that still had his modifications on.
Then there’s the story of the man who turned Elvis’s private jet into an RV – that’s definitely worth checking out.
Even after his death, the legend of the king of Rock’n’Roll still lives on through his music and his iconic cars.
Nalin started his career by working with various national newspapers in India. He has also worked as a writer/editor for many popular websites, while still pursuing his journalism and mass communication degree. Working as a digital nomad has allowed him to inform and educate through his work. When he is not writing, you can find him playing video games or travelling the mountains on his bike.
