VIN: the John Surtees BMW 507 chassis 70067
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HISTORY OF CHASSIS 70067
Chassis 70067 was one of 218 BMW 507s built to Series 2 specification. Compared to the Series 1 iteration (of which 34 were assembled), the Series 2 most notably had a smaller 65-litre fuel tank and an updated dash.
Chassis 70067 was painted Silver Grey and supplied with a hard top. The interior was trimmed in two-tone red and grey leather with matching red carpet.
The car was purchased new in mid 1957 by then 500cc Grand Prix Motorcycle World Champion, John Surtees.
For the 1956 season, Surtees had signed for MV Agusta. Following wins in that year’s Isle of Man TT, the Dutch TT and Belgian Grand Prix, Surtees secured the 500cc World Championship having accumulated 50% more points than his nearest challenger (BMW’s Walter Zeller).
As a token of the company’s gratitude (it was MV’s first titl in the premier 500cc category), Count Domenico Agusta told Surtees to have a think about what he would like as a prize.
Surtees takes up the story:
"I went away and did some serious thinking. There were a number of cars that quite excited me but I had done nothing about it. In 1957 at the start of the season I went to a race event at Hockenheim in Germany. There I saw my old friend and BMW development head Alex von Falkenhausen. What interested me was the beautiful car that was standing alongside the BMW pit. Alex saw me looking at it and said to take it for a run. So I jumped in and drove it all around those woodland roads which then existed at Hockenheim, and liked what I saw.”
"I went to Count Agusta and said I knew what I would like. It was a 507 BMW. His first words were how much? To which I replied £3,200. There was a hesitation so I went in and said 50%, and we had an agreement.”
"When the car was fully run in I asked to speak to Alex von Falkenhausen. I said to him the car was not like his. 'It goes up the mountains too slow and down the mountains too fast'. He replied "Yes I do have more horsepower in my car and can improve yours as well, we will do that. On brakes it is an opportune moment because we are working with Dunlop in England on introducing disc brakes and you can be part of that development programme".
Back at the BMW factory, the engine in Surtees’ car was upped to 165bhp thanks to an increased compression ratio (9.0.1), larger 42mm / 38mm diameter valves, larger 36 NDIX carburettors and a special high-lift camshaft.
Chassis 70067 then went off to Dunlop where it was fitted with four-wheel disc brakes.
Surtees continued:
"I carried out a lot of development running until I had provided the information required. In relation to speed, when the engine performance had been improved, the car had been fitted with a full under-belly fairing which gave it something like 10-15 mph more top speed. The most speed I ever did in it was on the Gallarate to Milan Autostrada - with the help of a little downhill section and good weather the car went over the 140 mph...".
Surtees finished third for MV Agusta in the 1957 500cc World Championship, after which he claimed a trio of back-to-back titles in 1958, 1959 and 1960. During these three seasons, Surtees also secured a hat-tick of 350cc titles for the marque.
In the midst of this rich spell of success, chassis 70067 was finally UK registered in July 1959 when it was issued licence plate 22 GKN.
"I continued to run the car taking it to most of the Grand Prix… The car was used continuously up until I joined Ferrari. On joining them at the end of 1962 Enzo Ferrari came out of his office after we had made an agreement and said 'German car, not possible' I thought I was going to be given a Ferrari. But that didn't happen, although I did end up with a 330 GT. Delivery of one was agreed and I thought 'Ooh, this is good' - but when I got my first pay cheque I found The Old Man had deducted the price of the new car from my fee!"
"I (finally) drove the BMW home and basically laid it up in the garage. My father had a very good friend he did business with who lived in Barnet and had cafes in both Dunstable and just off the Great North Road. He had previously hired from me one of the rather special motorcycles I had built. Dad called me and said 'Mr Greenfield would love to have the BMW'. I was very dubious but on checking where it was going to be and where it was going to be driven, I agreed. So for a short time the car was hired to Mr Greenfield who treated it extremely well and never in any way pressed it.”
"When I moved and had more accommodation I took the BMW back and it has been in my possession ever since."
John Surtees retained his much-treasured 507 until his death at age 83 in March 2017. It was subsequently sold by his estate in July 2018 when Bonhams realised a world record price of £3.8m for the 41,000 mile unrestored car.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Bonhams - https://www.bonhams.com/
