As is the case with other exclusive and limited cars, BMW’s latest tribute —the 3.0 CSL— will not be available for purchase within SA.
While it may be a fair bit of bias clouding my memory, this year seemed almost dominated by the Bavarian firm. The M3 Touring and M4 CSL almost stole the limelight entirely, and the latest heritage-honouring Bavarian coupe has added more fuel to the fire. Although only having a handful of units between the touring and M4 CSL earmarked for SA’s shores, it’s a win nonetheless. However, their latest heritage project — the 3.0 CSL— will unfortunately not be available in SA.
It’s rather unfortunate considering the modern Batmobile possesses the most powerful straight-six found in a road-legal BMW M car and is adorned in a slew of hand-crafted carbon fibre elements. BWM promises that the production of all 3.0 CSL models will take roughly three months. The 50 units will then find their way into the garages and collections of “particularly loyal and enthusiastic BMW fans.”
As far as exclusivity goes, the 3.0 CSL ranks alongside royalty badges such as the prestigious Chiron. The CSL badge brings with it a myriad of mechanical innovations to further elevate 3.0’s offerings. Acting as a homage to the original Batmobile, the new 3.0 CSL is endowed with all the goodies to live up to the core values associated with that prestigious three-lettered badge.
With a claimed unladened weight of 1 270 kg, impressive aero, the latest technology BMW has to offer, and an eye-pleasing BMW M heritage livery, the 3.0 CSL is as good as it gets in terms of modern driver-focused Bavarian coupes. What may be already considered a future classic may only be the unrequited love for many of SA’s renowned BMW cultists (myself included).
