Paul Walker's E36 BMW M3 just sold for £300,000

This is an E36 BMW M3 from the mid 1990s. It has just sold at auction for $385,000, the equivalent of around £300,000. Which in turn makes it the equivalent of a brand new Ferrari 812 Superfast with options.

Why the heck did it sell for so much? One, it’s an ultra-rare E36 M3 Lightweight, one of around 120 made, and with a smidge under 5,000 miles on its odometer. Two, it was owned by Paul Walker. Yeah, that’ll do it.

It sold as part of a 21-strong ‘Paul Walker Collection’ sale run by Barrett Jackson, more highlights of which you can peruse via the lovely 'Next' box below...

A bit more E36, first. Walker owned a frankly baffling five of these, and collectively they fetched over $1.3million, or around £1million.

Individually, they each boast 240bhp, their classic straight-six engine – unfettered by turbos – driving the rear wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox.

So, you could spend your million quid on a brand-new hypercar, or buy five E36 Lightweights and stage a very loud, very skiddy one-make race series with your mates. Or drag race them until 'Danger to Manifold' oblivion.

It wasn’t the only M3 for sale from Walker’s collection, mind. This E30 – usually the most valuable and sought-after of the retro M3s – sold for less than any of the lightweights, though still hauled in proper money. $165,000, to be precise.

You want film cars? Try this Fast Five-famous Nissan 370Z, which sold for $105,600.

Which is a smidge more than this R32 Nissan Skyline – with tasteful upgrades – went for. Sold at $100,100.

That makes this Mustang look like something of a bargain. It’s a 2013-vintage Boss 302S racecar, all stripped out and ready for the circuit, but one which is yet to race. “Purchased by a fellow racing enthusiast as a gift for Paul Walker,” the hammer went down at $95,700.

And now for something completely different: Walker’s deliciously Nineties two-tone Ford Bronco Eddie Bauer Edition, with under 33,000 miles on the clock, which sold for $73,700. Way to jump the queue for the new Bronco.

Want a cheaper Walker Collection off-roader? Try this $16,500 Toyota Tundra Access Cab, complete with three-ton towing capacity. Enough to get at least one of those E36s home from its riotous race series.

Like your German sports saloons a bit less Munich? Walker’s 2000-vintage Audi S4 fetched $29,700, despite a roof lacking a good degree of its paint. ‘Patina’, we believe it’s called.

We end on his utterly marvellous Chevy Chevelle wagon, a 1964 muscle car in the finest tradition. Of all the cars auctioned from Paul Walker’s collection, its $19,800 sale strikes us as one of the biggest bargains, given that it's cheaper than a new Chevy Cruze.

Have a look at what else sold – and for what – right here…