John Surtees BMW 507 for sale

Bonhams have announced the sale of a 1957 BMW 507 Roadster which belonged to the late 500cc Motorcycle World Champion John Surtees.

The car, which was paid for by Surtees’ team owner at the time, Count Domenico Agusta as a reward for winning in 1956 is expected to fetch between £2m and £2.2m.

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As if the sale wasn’t special enough, the car comes with a vehicle history written by Surtees himself, and the following letter he received from the Count confirming that he was getting the car as a prize for winning the championship.

“This letter is to confirm that on the 12th January, 1957, we presented to you an amount of DM 27,115.00 for you to buy a BMW type 507 Touring Sports car which was intended as a gift to you in appreciation of your winning the Motorcycle World Championship in 1956 for our company in the 500cc class.

“We want to mention here the fact that the above World Championship in the 500cc class was the first ever achieved by this company, and the above was but a token of our sincere gratitude.”

After running the car in, Surtees noted that it went “…up the mountains too slow and down the mountains too fast,” resulting in upgrades to the engine and the installation of disc brakes.

Surtees eventually won four 500cc titles along with three in the 350cc class before making the switch to four wheels. He won the Formula 1 world championship for Ferrari in 1964 making him the first and only racer to have gained the title world champion in the top flight of both sports.

While driving for Ferrari, Surtees arrived at the Maranello factory, Italy, in the Beemer. Doesn’t seem like a huge deal, except for Enzo Ferrari declared that drivers could not possibly have a German car while racing for his team. Despite this, Surtees kept the 507 up until his death in March 2017.

We bet ‘one owner from new’ never sounded so sweet until today?  

Have a browse for your next bike on MCN Bikes For Sale website.