In 2015, BMW launched the 30th anniversary edition of the M5. Only 300 examples would be made world-wide with 30 coming to the US. There was a lottery for a chance to buy one of these cars. Rick Coffin, a long time BMW CCA member, won that opportunity. However, instead of buying the car himself, he offered it to Lance White, one of the Foundation Trustees. Lance bought the car with the intent to auction it off to raise money for the Foundation. Erik Wensberg helped us get our foot in the door with Barrett-Jackson auctions. The car had been purchased from an Indiana BMW dealership, then transferred to Penske BMW in Scottsdale, AZ. Several of us from the Foundation flew out to Scottsdale to retrieve the car and transport it to Barrett Jackson’s auction site. It was on display for a day where everyone could walk by to see the car. Our car being a charity car was scheduled for a particular day and time, guaranteed to go on the stage at that time.

When the time came for it to be moved, a Barrett-Jackson driver moved the car to the staging lanes. When it was finally on the stage, it was show time. The Barrett-Jackson crew introduced the BMW CCA Foundation and Street Survival as the charity. Bill Wade was briefly interviewed. Then it was time to auction the car off. This car quickly climbed to $150,000, then stalled for a few moments, before the bidding took off again. At the pounding of the hammer, the price had climbed to $700,000. This makes it the most expensive BMW M5 in the world outside of maybe a prototype BMW might have in their collection. The winning bidder was none other than Rick Hendrick. Rick is known for his NASCAR teams, but he also has a BMW dealership.

This car was transported back to Charlotte, NC where it remains in Rick’s personal collection. In 2019, we were fortunate enough to borrow this car for The Power of M exhibition. It was on display at The Ultimate Driving Museum for the first time in 2019.

See the video here: Video