M3 CSL or Cayman R

[m5touringv10]

Looking for opinions on what would be the better buy of the two!
Which is the better drivers car and more fun to own?

[m5touringv10]

Anyone driven both?

[Rick101]

I hear the Cayman is good but the CSL is really something special and now I understand appreciating in price.

[m5touringv10]

Rick101 said:

I hear the Cayman is good but the CSL is really something special and now I understand appreciating in price.

Thanks for your your reply.
Favouring the CSL at this stage!

[Number 5]

Depends on your requirements, both cars are good at what they do. I love the CSL and it's very future price resistant but because of its age I wouldn't want to hammer it around a track for fear of that I would damage a lovely future classic (probably already is a classic) I have got a Cayman R PDK that I only really use for Sunday afternoon and track days, I like the arrive and drive set up of the car for track days. The Cayman R is a well balanced car and does what it's supposed to do very well, I also like the warranty package that is applied to it. A friend had a CSL and I drove it plenty of times, I would have one if it suited my requirements but it doesn't hence the Cayman R for me.

[m5touringv10]

Number 5 said:

Depends on your requirements, both cars are good at what they do. I love the CSL and it's very future price resistant but because of its age I wouldn't want to hammer it around a track for fear of that I would damage a lovely future classic (probably already is a classic) I have got a Cayman R PDK that I only really use for Sunday afternoon and track days, I like the arrive and drive set up of the car for track days. The Cayman R is a well balanced car and does what it's supposed to do very well, I also like the warranty package that is applied to it. A friend had a CSL and I drove it plenty of times, I would have one if it suited my requirements but it doesn't hence the Cayman R for me.

Thanks for your insightful comments.
Personally I won't be tracking the car I purchase, spirited B road driving is what I'll be doing.
With that in mind which one would you recommend?

[161BMW]

Plenty of E46 M3 CSL owners track their cars
Most have been tracked
Very hard to find an unmolested unabused one
Cayman R is also a fantastic car
CSL prices are on the up
I have seen a CSL crashed front and back

[EK993]

Difficult choice they are both going to be highly regarded special editions in the future.

If you don't need 4 seats I would be tempted by the Cayman R being its mid engine / designed as a sports car from the ground up.

[moebiusuk]

The CSL only comes with paddle-shift. Wasn't this quite problematic on the E46?

[isaldiri]

Would get the CSL personally. Have driven both (albeit not back to back) and while the Cayman R is an excellent car, for me the CSL just felt more special to drive.

[thegoat46]

Driven both. The Csl is a far better drivers car, bags of character great handling and lovely noise. If you don't get on with it can always get a cayman r aftet. Csl prices keep rising and rising so better to get one sooner rather than later. Good luck finding a goodun :-)

[m5touringv10]

Thanks guys, decided to go for the CSL.
Hopefully get one sooner rather than later!