Bonhams auctions one-of-a-kind Bertone Spicup concept at BMW Museum

The automakers and design studios that craft them typically hold on to their show cars for posterity, putting them away in archives that we'd imagine resemble the end scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark or else putting them in their own museums for visitors to their headquarters to see. That's what makes this particular item such a rare opportunity.

Bertone unveiled this BMW Spicup concept at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show. But unlike some of today's concept cars, this one was actually made to be driven, taking its chassis from a BMW 2000 CS, complete with its 2.5-liter inline-six engine. Sometime after the show, it was acquired by a Dutch individual who drove it regularly, but then the car disappeared into obscurity for a couple of decades.

Now restored to concours condition, the Spicup concept has been showcased at Villa d'Este and at the BMW Museum in Munich. That's where Bonhams just auctioned it off at its POWER by BMW event, where it sold for a high bid of €460,000 (~$600k). Other highlights of the event included a Le Mans and Spa-winning '75 3.0 CSL (est. €350,000/$460k), a '79 M1 Pro-Car (€500k/$660k), a '37 328 Roadster (€500k/$660k) and even a BMW-powered Abbatte wooden speedboat (€150k/$200k).

Follow the jump for more info on the Spicup show car, head over to this link for more on the POWER by BMW event.