This BMW 507 Roadster Belonged To The Last King Of Greece

BMW has only made a handful of what you could really call “sports cars” in its history. But surely the 507 could be counted among them. And this particular example has a rather stellar pedigree.

The roadster was delivered new in 1959 to King Constantine II, the last ruling monarch of Greece and godfather to Prince William of England. Nearly 60 years since it was delivered to His Royal Highness, the classic Bimmer is coming up for auction.

The precursor and spiritual predecessor of the retro Z8, the 507 was originally intended to fill the gap between the more expensive Mercedes 300 SL and lower-cost British roadsters from the likes of MG and Triumph. BMW originally planned to make 5,000 of them. But ultimately it only produced 252 – of which the vast majority (217) were Series II models, like this one.

Beautiful as it was, the 507 found favor with the world’s elite. Fred Astaire owned one. So did Elvis Presley. And John Surtees did, too. That put Constantine II in good company. He took delivery when he was still Crown Prince. Five years later the death of his father King Paul propelled him to the the throne. The following decade the monarchy was abolished and he was deposed. He went into a nearly four-decade exile that only ended with his return to his homeland five years ago.

It may be only fitting, then, that his prized roadster should be offered in Monaco, just down the Mediterranean coast from where he reigned. That’s where Bonhams will auction it off to the highest bidder, who will surely be taken by its timeless design and royal provenance.