As part of the M division's 50th anniversary, BMW will do something extremely rare in conjunction with BMW of North America. It will put the 2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona GTLM class-winning No. 24 BMW M8 GTE up for sale. The BMW M8 GTE Chassis Number 1809 will be displayed at the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion next week before it goes to a new home with a private buyer.

The M8 GTE racing cars competed in the GTLM Class of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship seasons under the banner of the BMW M factory team. During those seasons, the BMW M Team RLL team used eight chassis. BMW USA will retain two running cars. Three additional running vehicles exist, and for now, only Chassis 1809 is being sold because it has the best racing history. The other two chassis might be sold in the coming years.

"BMW has a proud history of preserving and exhibiting its rich collection of historic racing cars in both Munich and North America," said Thomas Plucinsky, BMW USA Classic Manager. "I only need the fingers on one hand to count the few factory race cars that have left the ownership of BMW in recent years. The BMW M8 GTE represented a money-is-no-object factory GT race car. It is truly an engineering masterpiece. The new owner of BMW M8 GTE No. 1809 will be the steward of a very important piece of BMW history in America and can count on support from BMW in the years to come to ensure its condition and value are maintained at the highest level."

We're scared even to ask what this car will sell for, but there is (sort of) hope for us mere mortals. For just $530,000, BMW will sell you a GT3 race car based on the M4.

The car and the race it won will forever be remembered fondly by those involved. "The BMW M8 GTE showed no signs of weakness in this 24-hour sprint," said Klaus Frohlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, after the Rolex 24 victory. "It was among the leaders all race and led for more kilometers than anyone else. And all that against extremely strong opposition."

The car will be delivered to its lucky owner with engineering notes, press and marketing materials, and the 2020 Rolex Trophy. The delivery includes a vehicle running kit including special tools to operate the car, plus an extra set of wheels and various consumables.

It won't be in full race trim, however, as BMW has updated the programming after an extensive workout at Palm Beach International Raceway in February to prepare it for easier use by the private customer. We can only hope he'll use it and not just store it away.