SURTEES SECRET BMW

Driving a rare BMW 503 Cabriolet, discreetly improved by a Grand Prix legend over 25 years of ownership

- CHARLIE CALDERWOOD

By most quantifiable measures, the BMW 503 was a failure. The same could be said for all of the '50-series' cars, which sold in lower numbers than B hoped and weren't profitable. But just take a look at this car and try to call it a failure.

There's the elegant profile, emphasised on 'our' example by its two-tone paintwork, with that chrome side strip kicking up at the back to add the lightest touch of flair. Or the luxurious door cards, with their opening drawers much more akin to a piece of high-end furniture than anything normally found inside a road vehicle. The glovebox, meanwhile, has an aluminium lid that's heavier and better built than most cars' entire dashboards.

No, this can't be a failure; as a pure piece of craftsmanship and design, the 503 is truly uncompromising in its pursuit of perfection. Focus on the owner's experience, rather than that of BMW's shareholders, and it's a triumph. An unprofitable product usually means a good deal for the consumer, after all. The 503 was certainly the former despite its price: the cabriolet was Germany's most expensive car when new. Yet very few took BMW up on that offer. It was first available in the UK in left-hand drive via sole concessionaire AFN, to little success, and then as a special order in righthand drive. This particular example was commissioned by a wealthy East Anglian doctor, Dr Bee (hence the numberplate), and was one of two 503s displayed at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1957 as BMW tried, largely in vain, to drum up more British interest.

Following the general theme of the 503, the re-engineering to right-hand drive was uncompromising. The aluminium dashboard, designed to strengthen the car laterally, was entirely re-cast for what would turn out to be just five right-hand-drive examples, three of which were cabriolets such as this.