Under certain circumstances, an 80 grand sedan can fetch a staggering sum like $700,000. To achieve that you need a special car, BMW M5; a special badge, M5 30 Jahre; and one wealthy guy with a huge obsession for the brand. And you need a prestigious auctioneer like Barrett-Jackson.

This past weekend all these criteria were met at the Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale event and a BMW M5 30 Jahre, the very last US-pec model in America, went under the hammer and was sold for $700K. The buyer is NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrik who runs a BMW dealership in his spare time and wants to show off this car in his museum next to an i8.

That is both cool and a pity. It’s cool because the BMW M5 30 Jahre edition is a pretty unique piece of kit with special paint job and features, and it’s a celebratory model marking the success of the M5 series. It’s a pity, because rare though it is, the 30 Jahre is still an M5. It is powered by a 600-hp V8 engine and boasts one of the best chassis in the known universe. Something like this must be driven, otherwise it’s a waste of good engineering.

All the proceeds from the sale of the last M5 30 Jahre will go to the BMW Club of America Foundation, an organization doing commendable charity work on BMW’s behalf. The auction also raised $1.8 million for other charities by selling the first Corvette Z06 Convertible and Mustang GT350R Shelby. 

Barrett-Jackson via WCF