BMW SPORT CARS

The tenacious manufacturer was up and running again by the end of the 1940s. And just 11 years after the war, it was producing one of the most beautiful

As one of the larger German industrial concerns in the 1930s and '40s, BMW was invaluable to its home country's military efforts during the war.
But this, of course, also made it a prime target for allied air raids. As a result, there wasn't much left of BMW's manufacturing capability after the fighting was over.
The firm had literally been bombed into nonexistence -- at least physically.
Despite such monumental setbacks, BMW was nonetheless determined to resume automobile production.
After putting out a trickle of motorcycles and small cars in the late 1940s,
the firm for 1952 introduced a hefty sedan called the 501. For 1954, BMW introduced the 502, basically the 501 powered by an all-new 100-hp 2.6-liter V8.
Encouraged by Hoffman, BMW commissioned American industrial designer Count Albrecht Goertz to design a pair of sporty models, resulting in a 2+2 grand tourer called the 503 and a sleek two-seat sports car, the 507.

The 503 was certainly stylish and pleasing to look at.
But it was nowhere near as striking as the enduring, masterful design of the 507, which appeared more like the charismatic machines of storied Italian marques rather than the work of a struggling German manufacturer.