Photo: Barrett-Jackson
One of the highlights of the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona last week was the Paul Walker Collection. Comprising 18 cars and 3 motorcycles, the pack of machines was sold for millions to collectors and fans chasing a piece of Hollywood history.
Of the 18 cars on the list, seven were BMW M3 of older generations. Of them still, five were of a special variety called Lightweight, and they all managed to stun the crowd and earn the sellers millions of dollars in the process.
The BMW M3 Lightweights, all manufactured in 1995, are part of a very special breed of race-oriented Bimmers produced in very limited numbers – there’s no official tally, but estimates put the entire production run to at most 126 units, ten of which pre-production models.
All were powered by the BMW S50 3.0-liter inline-6 engine, developing 240 hp and 225 ft/lb of torque (305 Nm). But it’s not necessarily what the cars are equipped with, but rather what they lacked, that makes them special.
The Lightweight series was produced after BMW kneeled to demands from American racing teams for the creation of a vehicle homologated to take part in sports car racing. As such, it lacked hardware such as radio, air conditioning, leather seats, tool kit, and sunroof.
Adding to that aluminum doors, and the lack of an insulation blanket under the hood, BMW managed to shave off 91 kg (200 lb) from the weight of the standard M3 of that generation (E36).
The five Lightweights owned by Walker were sold this weekend for prices ranging from $220,000 all the way to $385,000. This highest price was paid for a model with only 4,600 miles on the odometer, while the others had many more miles to their name.
Combined, all the five vehicles accounted for a total of $1.32 million of the money spent by buyers during the sale of the Paul Walker collection.
The BMW M3 Lightweights, all manufactured in 1995, are part of a very special breed of race-oriented Bimmers produced in very limited numbers – there’s no official tally, but estimates put the entire production run to at most 126 units, ten of which pre-production models.
All were powered by the BMW S50 3.0-liter inline-6 engine, developing 240 hp and 225 ft/lb of torque (305 Nm). But it’s not necessarily what the cars are equipped with, but rather what they lacked, that makes them special.
The Lightweight series was produced after BMW kneeled to demands from American racing teams for the creation of a vehicle homologated to take part in sports car racing. As such, it lacked hardware such as radio, air conditioning, leather seats, tool kit, and sunroof.
Adding to that aluminum doors, and the lack of an insulation blanket under the hood, BMW managed to shave off 91 kg (200 lb) from the weight of the standard M3 of that generation (E36).
The five Lightweights owned by Walker were sold this weekend for prices ranging from $220,000 all the way to $385,000. This highest price was paid for a model with only 4,600 miles on the odometer, while the others had many more miles to their name.
Combined, all the five vehicles accounted for a total of $1.32 million of the money spent by buyers during the sale of the Paul Walker collection.
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