There’s a time and a place for everything. Shopping, sleeping, eating, performing a hillclimb in a BMW M3 CSL and crashing it… There’s always a time and a place but hopefully none of us have to ever experience the anguish of the latter.
Hill climbing is an old form of motorsport that involves racers tackling an uphill course, and the winner is chosen based on the quickest time to complete said course. It is not uncommon to see a range of cars from beat-up jalopies to expensive supercars take on these grueling hill climb challenges. A lot of the time many drivers end up in accidents or crash their beloved race cars. A video posted by a Japanese driver showcased his amassing skill behind the wheel, but also a serious crash that involved his BMW M3 CSL.
BMW CSL units are geared toward high-intensity racing and are birthed from the factory ready to head down to the track. The BMW M3 CSL is no different. Introduced in 2003, the CSL was 100kg lighter than the standard M3 and made a bit more power (12kW to be exact). Its transmission, the single-clutch SMG, was very controversial and became the main flaw of the car but other than that, it was a natural evolution of an already impressive platform. The M3 CSL handled well, put its power down effectively and gave the driver confidence. A few bits and pieces here and there, and you had yourself a fully-fledged race car.
The video linked below by Tak K channel showcases the visceral sound and performance of the M3 CSL. From the get-go, we’re met with the wonderful intake sounds coming from the straight-six motor. Read more about the Bavarian S54 engine here. Through hairpins and sweeping corners, we can hear the car toss and turn. Faster and faster jumping from second to third to fourth and back down from a hairpin we experience the car putting all it got and the driver dances narrowly around the road. Gaining speed through a corner, there’s a sudden loss of traction in the rear. Oversteer ensues as the driver hurriedly tries to regain control, but it’s no use. The M3 goes careening into a wall, and the final shoots we see are of the headliner and the sound of glass shattering. Thankfully the driver is ok and still races to this day, years after the incident.
