What does 3. CSL mean?
Because for decades it’s actually stood for “Coupe Sport Lightweight,” back when the original 3. CSL created the name. The 3. CSL was, in fact, a coupe. Then, when the E46 M3 CSL came long, it was also a coupe, so the name remained. Introduced in May 1972, the 3. CSL was a homologation special built to make the car eligible for racing in the European Touring Car Championship.BMW 3. CSL (E9), 206 hp. The final development of the BMW 3. CSL came onto the market in July 1973 and today it is called the Batmobile (Batmobil).Setting out to develop a new and truly thrilling sports car, the M3 CSL, the engineers at BMW M focused from the start precisely on these straightforward laws and principles. Reminiscent of a long tradition at BMW, the abbreviation “CSL” stands for Coupé, Sport and Lightweight.CSL It features a more powerful 3. Inline-six cylinder engine producing 412 kW (560 PS; 553 hp) and 550 N⋅m (406 lb⋅ft) of torque and was built to celebrate BMW M’s 50th Anniversary.
What makes the 3. CSL so special?
Suspension technology with five decades of motorsport experience: The suspension components used in the BMW 3. CSL represent the spearhead of development for high-performance sports cars by BMW M GmbH: a double-joint spring strut front axle and a five-link rear axle in M-specific design, an Adaptive M suspension with . The BMW M4 CSL fuses old-school racing passion with innovative technology. A consistent lightweight concept and increased engine output from the inline 6-cylinder engine with M TwinPower Technology make the BMW M4 CSL the most powerful and fastest model ever approved for road use of this series.But thanks to its standard all-wheel drive, the M4 CS beats the no-longer-available rear-wheel-drive M4 CSL to 60 mph; BMW quotes a 3. CSL, but considering the mechanically similar M3 CS sedan did the deed in 2. BMW’s estimates are rather conservative.The BMW 3. CSL features the most powerful straight six-cylinder engine ever used in a road-legal BMW M automobile.The engine was also modified (S54B32HP) and generated an output of 360 hp – this was 17 hp more than the standard version of the BMW M3. The M3 CSL was one of the high-performance sports cars of its era with a sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4. North Loop time of 7:50 minutes.The real-life car is built on the #42 Team BMW Motorsport E46 M3 GTR driven by Jörg Müller and J. J. Lehto in the 2001 ALMS GT Series.
Why is the 3. CSL so expensive?
A Cool Million-Plus For BMW’s Anniversary Gift The 3. CSL pays homage to BMW M GmbH’s first product, the 1973 BMW 3. CSL Batmobile. The automaker limited production to just 50 units, which were hand-built over a period of three months at the same Dingolfing assembly faciility that produces Rolls-Royce bodies. Setting out to develop a new and truly thrilling sports car, the M3 CSL, the engineers at BMW M focused from the start precisely on these straightforward laws and principles. Reminiscent of a long tradition at BMW, the abbreviation “CSL” stands for Coupé, Sport and Lightweight.
Is BMW CSL rare?
Hands-on with the ultra-rare 3. CSL in its purest form Like many of history’s great cars, the BMW CSL – launched in 1972 – was a homologation special: a roadgoing masterpiece built to qualify the model for racing. The E46 BMW M3 GTR Strassenversion was a homologation special model, designed and developed, so the German manufacturer could take it racing in various championships. BMW only manufactured 10 examples of the M3 GTR Strassenversion, and only six were ever sold to the public, which makes it the rarest BMW ever made.The BMW 325iS from 1990. This legendary model held a similar place in South African hearts as the BMW M3 E30 did in Germany. Like the 333i before it, the BMW 325 iS was engineered for motorsport.BMW E46 M3 GTR Strassenversion The M3 GTR Strassenversion is the rarest M car, with only 10 units planned and each priced at €250,000 (approximately $290,000 at today’s exchange rate).Buying A BMW M3 GTR Street Version In 2025 Even though the M3 GTR Street is the rarest production BMW of all time, chances are you have driven one. The car proved popular in computer games such as Need For Speed and Gran Turismo. Driving one in real life, however, is unlikely.