VIN: the Elvis Presley / Ursula Andress BMW 507 chassis 70192

BMW - BMW 507 - BMW VINs - 507 VINs - Ursula Andress - Elvis Presley - Actors - Musicians

History of chassis 70192

Chassis 70192 was a Series 2 BMW 507 originally configured in Feather White with Red upholstery. It was completed on November 30th 1958, soon after which it was dispatched to the BMW distributor for New York, Max Hoffman.

To whom chassis 70192 was originally registered is currently unknown. However, by the early 1960s, the car was in the possession of Swiss actress, Ursula Andress.

Andress was reputedly given the 507 by her close friend, Elvis Presley. The pair had starred together in the 1963 hit musical Fun in Acapulco which was filmed a year after Andress rose to international prominence following her appearance as Honey Ryder in the James Bond movie Dr. No.

In his pursuit of Andress, Presley had twice tried to give the Swiss bombshell a Cadillac Convertible, which she politely refused. On the second attempt, Andress informed Presley that, should he want to give her something really special, she would like the BMW 507 he had famously used in Germany while drafted for the US Army.

That car (chassis 70079) had actually been leased from a Frankfurt dealer to which Presley returned it before heading back to the US once discharged from the Army in March 1960.

It therefore seems likely that Presley had to hunt around for a second-hand 507 to gift Andress as production had ended in December 1959.

What he found was chassis 70192; a matching Feather White example albeit with a red instead of black interior.

Andress registered the BMW in California and used it extensively. After a while, she took it to famed customiser, George Barris, who fitted a 4.7-litre Shelby V8 and a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed gearbox. Barris also dropped the ride height and installed nerf bars at either end.

Ursula Andress reputedly kept her treasured 507 until the late 1980s, by which time it had been repainted silver with black racing stripes and re-upholstered.

It was then sold via George Barris to Mark Smith who tracked down a correct type engine and gearbox and then sold the car on. Since then, chassis 70192 has been restored.

Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: RM Sotheby’s - https://rmsothebys.com/ & Paramount Pictures - https://www.paramount.com/