1959 BMW 503 Coupe Sport

(from BMW Press Release)  Icons of style from the 1950s: the BMW 503 and BMW 507.

At the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in 1955, BMW presented not one, but two spectacular new automobiles, the BMW 503 Coupe and the BMW 507 Roadster. Both models were powered by the eight-cylinder engine, which had been increased to a capacity of 3.2 litres and which delivered 140 hp to the BMW 503 and a breathtaking 150 hp to the BMW 507. With features which included leather upholstery and electric windows, the four-seater BMW 503 fulfilled the burgeoning desire for luxury and extraordinarily elegant design during the early phase of Germany’s economic miracle.

The designs for the BMW 503 and BMW 507 were drafted by the young German designer Albrecht Graf Goertz. The former student of the famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy succeeded in melding long, stretched side contours and powerfully swept fronts with an elegance and lightness which until then had only been achieved by Italian automobile designers. Even today, this combination is still a perfect example of the sporting elegance which is also expressed by the BMW 6 Series Coupe.

The BMW 503 was also a pioneer in terms of technology. Parts of its bodywork were made of aluminium, the lightweight V8 engine accelerated the coupe to 190 km/h. A brake servo was part of the standard equipment and from 1957 onwards, the gearbox was married directly to the engine and for the first time was operated by a gear stick on the floor and not by a gear shift on the steering wheel, as had been the case up until then.