Cars fit for a King

Elvis Aaron Presley was the undisputed king of rock and roll. And while stationed in Germany, the King made a mark with 2 of BMW's famous cars of the 50's, the BMW Isetta and the BMW 507.

BMW 507
BMW 507

BMW Isetta


BMW 507

Elvis receives the keys to his BMW 507

Der Elviswagen, as the press called it, was a white BMW 507 roadster in which PFC Elvis Presley tooled about Germany in the late 1950s, commuting between nightspots and his rented house in Bad Nauheim.

While stationed at Ray Barracks in Friedburg, Germany, Elvis Presley rented a house at 14 Göethestrasse in Bad Nauheim, after a brief stay in the Grünewald Hotel in Bad Nauheim. A monument memorializing Elvis Presley is situated on the corner lawn of the Grünewald Hotel. The second floor, which Elvis and his entourage rented, has been left almost exactly as it was. You can stay in Room 10 -- Elvis's bedroom -- where the young star would stroll out onto the balcony to greet his fans below.

"We ran to the railway station and waited for him, full of joy and hoping maybe to get an autograph," recalled Ulrich Kiefer, a Friedberg councilor, who experienced Germany's Elvis mania as a 15-year-old schoolboy. "It was a great experience for us, as young boys at that time," he said. "We were molded by this rock music. It was a beautiful time for us. And then to see the person who embodied this music was a fantastic experience."

Although he didn’t give any concerts in Germany, German teenagers idolized Elvis and viewed him as a rebel. But local newspapers were not among the King's most ardent fans. Under the headline "Elvis the traffic obstacle" the daily Wetterauer Zeitung reported in February 1959 how Elvis had irresponsibly stopped his car in Friedberg's main street to give autographs to a crowd of young girls. "Thereby not only the traffic was severely disrupted, but the girls themselves were put in danger of being run over by passing cars...Only when two police officers intervened did the spectacle end," wrote an angry journalist.

What Happened to Der Elviswagen?

Elvis returned to the USA with his BMW 507 Roadster, and he left active duty at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on March 5, 1960. He received his discharge from the Army Reserve on March 23, 1964.

In 1963, Elvis gave the vehicle to Ursula Andress during the filming of the movie Fun in Acapulco. She kept the car for over 20 years at her home in Beverly Hills, California. It was sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 1997 for $350,000.

American audiences first saw Ursula Andress in the British film, Dr. No, the first James Bond movie, with Sean Connery.

Since 1954 Ursula had appeared in several European films, mostly Italian, including Le Avventure di Giacomo Casanova. Fun In Acapulco was her first American-made film.

Elvis's nickname for Ursula was "Ooshie"

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German Elvis Links

Bad Nauheim, his home in Germany, pays tribute to Elvis.

Music Links:

Elvis Presley Verein
Elvis Presley Superstar
Elvis Club in Berlin
King Elvis Elvis-Presley-Zentrale: Infos, Tauschbörse, Bestellmöglichkeiten: Bücher, CD, DVD
Elvis1 Wap fähige Seite, Fotos, Forum, Infos, Termine, Jukebox, Quiz
Elvis News, Stories und Neu-Veröffentlichungen
Elvis is Back Elvis-Fanclub-Geislingen
Elvis Presley Gesellschaft Elvis-Presley-Gesellschaft
Keep him in Mind Elvis-History
Club Elvis Spanischer Elvis-Fan-Club
Elvis Online Alles über Elvis
Elvis Records Der Elvis-Versand im Internet CD´s, Vinyl, Bücher, Raritäten, etc.
Elvis Archiv Das Elvis-Archiv mit vielen Infos zu Elvis-Aufnahmen und Literatur
Shadows of Elvis Bekannte Elvis-Coverband
Elvis the Soul Der Künstler verkörpert den attraktiven Elvis der 50er und 60er Jahre
Tom Aaron, "The Sound of Elvis", sings the songs of Elvis Presley.
Oliver Steinhoff der "Las Vegas"-Elvis.