1/18 Revell 1956 BMW 507 TOURING SPORT CABRIO - WHITE

Description: Unique opportunity to acquire well detailed and hard to find 1/18th scale replica of the iconic vehicle 1956 BMW 507 Touring Sports Cabrio. The BMW 507 is a roadster that was produced by BMW from 1956 until 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars and heavy financial losses for BMW.The BMW 507 was conceived by U.S. automobile importer Max Hoffman who, in 1954, persuaded the BMW management to produce a roadster version of the BMW 501 and BMW 502 saloons to fill the gap between the expensive Mercedes-Benz 300SL and the cheap and underpowered Triumph and MG sports cars. BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler was assigned to design the rolling chassis, using existing components wherever possible. Early body designs by Ernst Loof were rejected by Hoffman, who found them to be unappealing. In November 1954, at Hoffman's insistence, BMW contracted designer Albrecht von Goertz to design the BMW 503 and the 507.Thirty-four Series I 507s were built in 1956 and early 1957.[8] These cars had welded aluminium fuel tanks of 110 litres (29.1 US gal) capacity behind the rear seats. These large tanks limited both boot space and passenger space, and gave off the smell of fuel inside the car when the soft top was up or the hardtop was in place. Series II and later 507s had fuel tanks of 66 litres (17.4 US gal) capacity under the boot, shaped around the space for the spare tyre.The 507 made its debut at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in the summer of 1955. Production began in November 1956. Hoffman intended the 507 to sell for about $5,000, which he believed would allow a production run of 5,000 units a year. Instead, high production costs pushed the price in Germany to DM 26,500 then DM 29,950. This drove the U.S. price initially to $9,000 then ultimately $10,500 ($98,600 today). Some of the prominent buyers were John Derek, Elvis Presley who owned two, Hans Stuck, and Georg "Schorsch" Meier. Despite the celebrity owners, the 507 never reached more than 10% of the sales volume achieved by Mercedes-Benz 300SL.BMW had intended for 507 to revive the company's sporting image, but the higher production cost led the company to the verge of bankruptcy. BMW lost money on each 507 built and resulted in the company's losses of DM 15 million for 1959. The company's losses led to the capital infusion from Herbert Quandt in order to prevent the bankruptcy. The launch of the new models, BMW 700 and 'New Class' 1500 helped the company recover financially.Only 252 plus two prototypes were built before the production was terminated in 1959. The model was issued by REVELL in their "MASTERPIECE" collection. Item #8810. Detailed model. It looks exactly like the real car. The model features openable doors, hood and trunk, steerable front wheels, removable top, detailed engine compartment, complete interior, operational suspension, authentic wheels and tires. The model is brand new, never removed from the original box, with all shipping straps still intact. The original box is in very good condition, shows some minor shelf wear. High resolution photos represent the actual item for sale and are part of the description. Shipping and handling fee $20.00 to any destination within continental USA ($45.00 to Canada and Mexico; $58.00 to any country in Europe, Central America and South America; $62.00 to Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan). Attention to international buyers: the shipping fees are substantial higher for this model since it would have to be shipped by Priority Mail due to the size and weight of the box which exceeds allowable dimensions for 1st class mail and weight. Payment by PayPal. Serious bidders only. Payment is expected within 3 days of the end of this auction. Thank you for bidding and good luck.

Price: 74.99 USD

Location: New York, New York

End Time: 2024-08-05T03:13:43.000Z

Shipping Cost: 20 USD