Back in June I took a look at the roadgoing version of the CSL ‘Batmobile’ – well, at least a replica of one:
I talked about the race exploits of the FIA and Touring racing cars, and today we’re looking at a replica version of one of those.
Warning!
We have 15 years of archives. Links older than a year may have been updated to point to similar cars available to bid on eBay.Tag: CSL
So guess what caught my eye here? No surprise, if it’s a yellow M3, I’ll bite. This one grabbed my attention first because of the hue, then the price – just under $14,000 on a no reserve auction? Well, it must have a million miles rig….nope, not here. So it MUST be an SMG then, right? NO ONE wants a SMG because the moment you buy one they will murder you in your sleep and kick your dog and shut down the government (*according to actual internet comments I’ve seen). But nope, it’s a 6-speed manual.
But the more I looked at it, the more questions were raised. Why was no one bidding on this slick E46?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2004 BMW M3 on eBay
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A familiar face popped into my usual searches this week. It was a 2001 BMW M3 in Laguna Seca Blue. What stood out immediately were the wheels (okay, and the color); BBS CH and near faultless condition throughout pointed towards the example I looked at twice in 2014. Three years later, it’s still for sale and though the price has dropped, the seller is still looking for the best part of $60,000.
In the future, that price may not seem quite that outrageous. After all, finding a perfect condition, 10,000 mile M3 in one of the two signature colors isn’t something you come across everyday, right?
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2002 BMW M3 on eBay
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BMW’s revolution and rebranding through racing started on March 25, 1973. At the Monza 4 hours race in the European Touring Car Championship, the “CSL” legend was born. Massive box flares, huge BBS magnesium race wheels and deep front spoilers adorned the delicate E9 coupe now, and the iconic German Racing White with blue and red stripes following the lines of the hood and sides of the car. And with drivers like Hans-Joachim Stuck, Chris Amon, and Dieter Quester BMW Motorsport would go on to win many races and establish the brand that would later launch the infamous “Batmobile” CSL, the 2002 Turbo, and of course the M brand. Prior to 1973, the top flight races were run by BMW through their partners Alpina and Schnitzer, and indeed the BMW Motorsport entrants at Monza failed to finish, with Niki Lauda at the hands of an Alpina E9. A few races later, the rear wing was introduced by BMW Motorsport, and in the hands of Dieter Quester the first BMW Motorsport win was recognized at the 24 Hours of Spa on July 22, 1973.
The 3.0 and later 3.5 CSLs would continue to race and win for a few years, establishing the brand as a serious contender to the established Porsche in the sporting market. Because of this, there were not only many in-period conversions to CSL race cars, but many replicas built since. This appears to be one of the latter – originally, a 2800CS which has been converted to look like the Group 2 racers with a period motor:
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1970 BMW 2800CS CSL Group 2 Replica on eBay
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Though I’ve quite happily entered into M3 ownership and don’t regret my choice, I still keep my eye on where similar examples trade for. Just last week an Interlagos Blue ZCP came to the attention of both Dan and I and sold for just below $20,000 – not bad, but the car had quite a few miles and no major services completed and some unoriginal changes, such as darkened wheels. There was another that I was following at the same time – this earlier 2001 example. While not a ZCP, this 2001 had the later look with updated wheels and taillights, plus a CSL trunk. The condition also looks generally a bit better and it has lower miles, but is also missing most of the major maintenance these cars can require. Still, there’s the big draw – that amazing Laguna Seca Blue exterior, this one hiding a rare Gray interior. It was my second color combination choice, and worth a look: