Paul Walker’s e36 M3 Lightweight

2020 – Las Vegas

I attended the Las Vegas Barrett-Jackson auction in early 2020. As I am sure you can understand the auction offers a vast array of vehicles to the extent that it’s hard not to get a little jaded after a time.

Just when I thought I had seen it all, I turned the corner and there it was: A Paul Walker BMW e36 M3 Lightweight. Notice I didn’t say the Paul Walker LTW. As it were, Paul Walker had several of these cars (five to be exact).

Also, (me being really honest) . . . I didn’t just turn a corner and find this display. I literally arrived here on a mission to see this car. . .  and it was definitely worth it.

Part of me was excited to see such a pristine example of a very rare edition of the e36 M3. As if an M3 coupe isn’t cool enough, this is the Lightweight version – of which there were only 125 editions reportedly having been built .

The other part of me was a little sad (to say the least), regarding the reason that these cars were here at auction.

This BMW M3 was part of a larger lot of Walker’s collection (19 cars to be precise) that sold collectively for $2,279,750.

Obviously I didn’t know Paul Walker and never met him. However, I admired his gusto and passion for cars and driving. I don’t think anyone really knows what transpired on his fateful day, but I can imagine that it contained all the excitement that one would have when one is about to experience a really wonderful and finely crafted sports car. 

As it were, it was really neat to be able to see this car up close and personal. The remainder of the Las Vegas Barrett Jackson auction was as stunning and inspiring as would be expected, and all five of Paul Walker’s e36 M3 Lightweight cars were sold (the lowest mileage car with only 4600 miles) selling for $385,000 USD.

May he rest in peace.