BMW 3.0 CSL - Happy 40th Birthday - Unbeatable BMW
Discussion
It's Almost 40 years since BMW bought A Legend to the marketplace . THIS was the Car that launched BMW Motorsport
Few people realise JUST How Special the 3.0 CSL was....... BMW really Made an effort to make these cars VERY Special
The spec included All round disc brakes, Bilstein Shocks, 7 In Alpina Alloys, Superb Scheel Seats and a Petri Steering wheel .
The CSLs body shell was made of Thinner Gauge Steel, with an Alloy Bonnet And Bootlid ( the CSI Steel ones are Unbeleivably heavy ) Alloy Door Skins And Even the Fuel Filler Cap was Alloy !!
Just 500 RHDrive cars were built , with Most ( if not All ) destined for Britain. But to have Any chance of selling them here , BMW had to load them with Extras . They called this " The City Pack " and it included Power Steering , Electric Windows , Sound Deadening And Underseal .
The Well Healed buyer Includeing Sean Connery who bought a Polaris one in July 73 ( and aparently Norman Wisdom ) had Some stunning colours to chose from, inc Polaris Silver , Inca Orange , Taiga Green , Celon Gold , Fjord Blue , Chamomix White , Verona Red . With Fjord ( 112 Cars ) being the most common followed by Polaris .
And Well healed you had to be.... Priced @ £7,399 it was a hideously Expensive car And Not what the Sales Staff wanted to sell . They could shift More 2002 and E3 Saloons than BMW could give them, but the CSL was hard to shift and many were heavily discounted. Fast forward a few years and they were almost just another used car. many fell into the hands of Uncaring Flash Harrys. It is unclear how many have survived out of the 500 RHD ones , but a few have ended up in Australia , Inc Chassis No 2285001 a Celon Gold car .
Few people realise JUST How Special the 3.0 CSL was....... BMW really Made an effort to make these cars VERY Special
The spec included All round disc brakes, Bilstein Shocks, 7 In Alpina Alloys, Superb Scheel Seats and a Petri Steering wheel .
The CSLs body shell was made of Thinner Gauge Steel, with an Alloy Bonnet And Bootlid ( the CSI Steel ones are Unbeleivably heavy ) Alloy Door Skins And Even the Fuel Filler Cap was Alloy !!
Just 500 RHDrive cars were built , with Most ( if not All ) destined for Britain. But to have Any chance of selling them here , BMW had to load them with Extras . They called this " The City Pack " and it included Power Steering , Electric Windows , Sound Deadening And Underseal .
The Well Healed buyer Includeing Sean Connery who bought a Polaris one in July 73 ( and aparently Norman Wisdom ) had Some stunning colours to chose from, inc Polaris Silver , Inca Orange , Taiga Green , Celon Gold , Fjord Blue , Chamomix White , Verona Red . With Fjord ( 112 Cars ) being the most common followed by Polaris .
And Well healed you had to be.... Priced @ £7,399 it was a hideously Expensive car And Not what the Sales Staff wanted to sell . They could shift More 2002 and E3 Saloons than BMW could give them, but the CSL was hard to shift and many were heavily discounted. Fast forward a few years and they were almost just another used car. many fell into the hands of Uncaring Flash Harrys. It is unclear how many have survived out of the 500 RHD ones , but a few have ended up in Australia , Inc Chassis No 2285001 a Celon Gold car .
neutral 3 said:
Claret Badger , yours is a Taiga one ? Fantastic colour ! What's it like ?
Isn't it 4 Star Classics had a Batmobile in Tiaga for sale for absolutely ages.I'd love to know from some owners what these are like to drive ? If everything I hope to buy either one of these or an E30 M3 in ayear or two....with the price of those now I am seriously considering a CSL instead.
What's it like to drive? More fun than my Porsche 3.2 Carrera which I have just sold, in my opinion.
You can get the back end out quite easily which is fun. Its pretty controllable. The throttle response is great, and I get a lot more low end grunt than from the Porsche and to be honest it felt as quick, maybe even quicker. I got up over 120 mph once (on a track obviously)and it was still pulling. Visibility is fantastic and it drives like a modern car really. I used it as my only car for a number of years and it was practical for chucking full of stuff and would take 4 adults. I'm 6'6 and its still roomy for me.
I've had mine 10 years nearly, and even with the huge price rises they have seen, I cannot think of anything I could get instead for the same money that would offer the mix of sportiness,rarity, beauty, practicality and good old fashioned fun.
You can get the back end out quite easily which is fun. Its pretty controllable. The throttle response is great, and I get a lot more low end grunt than from the Porsche and to be honest it felt as quick, maybe even quicker. I got up over 120 mph once (on a track obviously)and it was still pulling. Visibility is fantastic and it drives like a modern car really. I used it as my only car for a number of years and it was practical for chucking full of stuff and would take 4 adults. I'm 6'6 and its still roomy for me.
I've had mine 10 years nearly, and even with the huge price rises they have seen, I cannot think of anything I could get instead for the same money that would offer the mix of sportiness,rarity, beauty, practicality and good old fashioned fun.
Claret Badger said:
What's it like to drive? More fun than my Porsche 3.2 Carrera which I have just sold, in my opinion.
You can get the back end out quite easily which is fun. Its pretty controllable. The throttle response is great, and I get a lot more low end grunt than from the Porsche and to be honest it felt as quick, maybe even quicker. I got up over 120 mph once (on a track obviously)and it was still pulling. Visibility is fantastic and it drives like a modern car really. I used it as my only car for a number of years and it was practical for chucking full of stuff and would take 4 adults. I'm 6'6 and its still roomy for me.
I've had mine 10 years nearly, and even with the huge price rises they have seen, I cannot think of anything I could get instead for the same money that would offer the mix of sportiness,rarity, beauty, practicality and good old fashioned fun.
Sold! If I had anywhere to keep it.You can get the back end out quite easily which is fun. Its pretty controllable. The throttle response is great, and I get a lot more low end grunt than from the Porsche and to be honest it felt as quick, maybe even quicker. I got up over 120 mph once (on a track obviously)and it was still pulling. Visibility is fantastic and it drives like a modern car really. I used it as my only car for a number of years and it was practical for chucking full of stuff and would take 4 adults. I'm 6'6 and its still roomy for me.
I've had mine 10 years nearly, and even with the huge price rises they have seen, I cannot think of anything I could get instead for the same money that would offer the mix of sportiness,rarity, beauty, practicality and good old fashioned fun.
Seriously though the more I look at these the more I want one. Someone has got one near me that is left parked on the street and needs some major TLC...nie to see it being used but it needs some work urgently.
There is a Rotten Fjord CSL going through Auction @ Duxford in April. It was on an online Auction site not long ago.
From the photos, The Alloys look like CSA / CSI ones as they appear to be far too narrow. Genuine 7 in CSL Alpinas are not cheap or plentifull either.
I Think it's estimated @ £12,000 - £ 15,000 !!
From the photos, The Alloys look like CSA / CSI ones as they appear to be far too narrow. Genuine 7 in CSL Alpinas are not cheap or plentifull either.
I Think it's estimated @ £12,000 - £ 15,000 !!
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