BMW sparked a lot of controversy when it unveiled the 3.0 CSL last year. The limited-run special edition served as the culmination of the M division’s 50th anniversary in 2022. Enthusiasts didn’t necessarily have a problem with the car itself, but rather with the exorbitant asking price. It wasn’t officially publicized, but the sticker hovered around €750,000. Last month, one of them was auctioned for over €1 million.
The modern-day 3.0 CSL is essentially an M4 CSL with a bespoke body, a special paint job, centerlock wheels, and a manual gearbox. It also has an extra 10 horsepower, making it the most potent BMW production car ever with an inline-six engine. As special as the car looks, some of the diehard fans couldn’t phantom the idea of a car heavily related to an M4. In Germany, the sports coupe costs €93,400 if you stick to the base model with rear-wheel drive and a manual.
Despite setting an eye-watering price tag, BMW had no issues selling the 50 cars, all of which have already been built and delivered. One of them is featured in a new video while strolling through Tokyo in the late hours of the day. We should point out that all 3.0 CSLs were made with the steering wheel on the left side but Japan is an RHD country.
It certainly has presence, and we’re delighted to see it’s being used rather than sitting in a climate-controlled garage. BMW painted all of them in Alpine White and the carbon fiber body parts were hand-painted. The only exposed carbon fiber can be found in the lettering on the roof as well as on the rear wing reminiscent of the E9 “Batmobile.” It’s just wishful thinking on our part, but hopefully that kidney grille design will trickle down to series-production models one day.
As nice as the car looks, for €750,000, it’s understandable why purists would’ve wanted more. Perhaps a production version of the ill-fated Vision M Next might have made more sense for that kind of money but to each his own. BMW remains reluctant to build another supercar after the M1. The mid-engine legend wasn’t exactly smooth sailing considering the German brand went through many hurdles during development.
Source: Studie AG / YouTube
