This Immaculate BMW E30 M3 Just Sold For £34,500

This fully restored and stunning 1986 BMW E30 M3 recently went under the hammer at Silverstone Auctions. Its guide price of between £25,000 and £30,000 was quickly exceeded, with its new owner securing the car at a hefty £34,500 - that's around the same price of a brand-new M235i and a good deal more than you'd expect to pay for an E30 M3 of this year.

So why the big fuss? According to the auction site's blurb, the M3 you see here is as good as new. Everything (and I mean everything) has been refreshed, including the paintwork, engine, interior, suspension and mechanicals.

The 2.3-litre four-cylinder S14 engine you see here produces 192bhp, which, because of the M3's light weight would give the E30 a 0-62mph time of 6.9sec and a top speed of 146mph.

According to 'howmanyleft.co.uk' (a website you can lose hours to), just 48 E30 M3s were licensed at the end of 2013 in the UK, while a further 97 were registered as off the road. For that reason, the E30 M3's rarity makes it a desirable car to own, and one which will appreciate in value as the years roll on.

Here's to hoping that the icon's new owner doesn't lock it up as a garage queen...