World's highest-mileage concept car sells for $627K!

A Bertone-designed BMW concept's high mileage hardly dissuaded buyers.

High mile used cars are rarely sought after, but a 1969 BMW concept car bodied by Italy's Bertone was highly valued in part because of its well-used odometer.

Built for the 1969 Geneva Motor Show, the BMW/Bertone Spicup (think Spider plus Coupe) was based on the automaker's then-new 2800 six-cylinder sedan (the predecessor to today's 5 and 7-Series sedans). But Bertone shortened its chassis and gave it its own unique bodywork inside and out. Only a handful of mechanical and trim pieces marked it as distant relative to a 2800.

Back when it was much easier to register such a one-off car with local authorities, Bertone sold the Spicup to a pair Dutch brothers and car enthusiasts. The drivers racked up 100,000 kilometers in ten years before parking the Spicup in a barn.

Flash forward to 2008 and the wild chase to find the Spicup begins after Dutch enthusiast and restorer Paul Koot learns of the existence of "some weird model with BMW badges." Koot discovers the Spicup, which had by then been painted the sort of ghastly orange favored in the 1970s. Its complete condition and the fact that its running gear is all stock BMW meant that Koot was able to get it restored by Spring of 2009 in time for the Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance in Italy, perhaps the world's premier stomping grounds for past and present concept cars.

The Spicup was sold for $627,000 including buyer's premium earlier this week at an auction at the BMW Museum in Munich to an undisclosed collector.

Other highlights from the auction? A $71,000 BMW M3 E30-body Evolution II showing under 2,500 miles, a $204,000 BMW-powered 1958 wood sports boat and a fully rally-prepared Golf (yellow) 1974 BMW 2002 for $29,000.