Influenced by the public response to the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and Mercedes-Benz 190SL in 1954, BMW began development of a sports car based on the platform of the BMW 502 luxury sedan. The styling was contracted out to industrial designer Albrecht von Goertz, who designed a two-seat roadster and a four-seat grand tourer versions. The BMW 507 roadster was introduced at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in early 1955, while the BMW 503 four-seater was introduced a few months later. However, high prices would be the downfall of both models. Max Hoffman, the BMW importer for the United States, told BMW that he would order 2000 507s if he could sell them for each. When the selling price was given as about twice that, and higher than the 300SL, he withdrew his offer. 412 units of the 503 and 253 of the 507 were built during their production runs from 1956 (May for the 503, November for the 507) to March 1959.