CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion - C1 Corvette Year-By-Year Comparo: 1959

In today's feed from SCM, I think it is, an item about a BMW 507 whose first and only owner was John Surtees, CBE.

Commander Surtees, to use his proper title, was an Englishman who was a five-time F1 motorcycle champion, who then switched to F1 auto racing, and became champion in that as well. He is the only person ever to be F1 champion on both two wheels and four. I believe he won his F1 title driving for Ferrari in 1964. Holding champion status in both motorcycles and cars is a distinction that is quite unlikely to be repeated; motorcycle racers in the modern era very seldom cross over into auto racing, and F1 auto racers, by the time they retire, are generally not interested in pursuing a field of endeavor even more dangerous than their recent occupation.

Surtees was given a very good deal on a 507, which he drove all his liife; the car was still his when he passed away a few years ago. During his ownership, he had the engine worked on a bit by the factory tuners, and also had disc brakes fitted, thereby making it stop at least as well as it went, possibly even better. Clearly, he loved the car; it was quite well kept up and he was in his eighties and still driving it. Surtees died within the last year or two, and was notably mourned not only by the English, since he was one of their champions, but also by the Italian fans of F1 racing, who referred to him as "Il Grande John" (The Great John) I can't think of another English driver who was so well regarded by Italian motorsport fans. Some of this may have had to do with the fact that he won so many international motorcycle racing titles for MV Agusta, an Italian company.

BMW 507s are desirable cars- not so much on their performance, which is probably adequate at best, but more due to their styling, their rarity, and the fact that there are not that many collectible BMWs for devotees of the marque. The 507 and the M1 are really the only high-end BMWs I can offhand think of. Only the 507 is beyond the million-dollar mark.

Surtees' car, with its absolutely clear provenance, including its history of singular ownership by a motor and cycle racing champion, on top of the rarity of the model to start with, is likely to make this car a hot property at the Gooding auction. Somewhere out there is a former British schoolboy who was a fan of The Great John in that boy's youth, and who has done well enough that he and folks like him are salivating at the prospect of owning the 507 that was the prized possession of the Great One.