One to Buy: 1972 BMW E9 3.0 CSL City Pack
Having successfully campaigned various iterations of the 1800, 2000 and 2002, BMW decided to take on Ford in the top class of international touring car racing.
The E9-based 3.0 CSL was their weapon of choice. It became the first product to emerge from BMW’s new Motorsport department and went down as one of the 1970’s most iconic competition cars.
To qualify for the Group 2 category, a production run of 1000 Coupe Sport Leichts was necessary which BMW had dutifully created by November 1972 when homologation was approved in anticipation of the 1973 racing season.
In addition to the bare bones original variant produced up to July 1972 (which had used a carb-fed 2985cc motor and was only available in left-hand drive), BMW produced a second batch of CSLs with 3003cc fuel-injected motors. Notably, this later iteration was also offered in right-hand drive of which 500 examples were built, most of which headed to the UK.
The majority of these right-hand drive CSLs were configured with the optional City Pack which re-instated luxuries such as power steering, a heated rear window, additional sound deadening, velour carpet, a normal locking bonnet and boot lid and a full toolkit. Bumpers were also part of the City Pack as was a fully undersealed chassis, a laminated windscreen, proper side glass, CS/CSi suspension settings and anti-roll bars. Most examples also came with bonnets, doors and boot lids fabricated from steel instead of aluminium.
Currently on offer at the Classic Throttle Shop showroom in North Sydney is an especially fine example of the City Pack-equipped CSL painted arguably the best colour for one of these cars: Polaris Silver.
Restored back in 1995, since which time it has covered a little under 16,000 miles, this particular car’s superb condition is a testament to the quality of the work carried out nearly 30 years ago and the obvious care that has been lavished upon it ever since.
Reprinted below is Classic Throttle Shop’s description:
Polaris Silver
3.0 litre Fuel Injected
4 Speed Manual
15,827 Indicated Miles
AU$599,995
The 1970s were landmark years for BMW. With the introduction of the fabled 3.0-litre CSL in 1971, the Munich-based automaker dominated international motorsport. Winning the European Touring Car Championship six times with names like Hans and Dieter thundering around Spa and the Nürburgring, ripping through an atmosphere that was equal parts oil, lager, and BBQed sausages, the 3.0L CSL raced against the likes of the 911 2.7 RS and 3.0L Ford Capri, whose like-for-like homologation models now sell for well into the millions.
Known popularly as the ‘Batmobile’, the 3.0-litre CSL (Coupé Sport Leicht) was essentially BMW’s first M car produced especially for homologation regulations between 1972 and 1975. Just 500 cars were ever built in right-hand-drive, a minuscule production number and were made available in both the standard, spartan “Lightweight” guise or with the optional “City Package” that was designed to make the car more usable every day, adding power-steering, rear window defroster, sound deadening, electric windows, and velour carpeting.
A sports classic statement of style, heritage, and racing success, available here is one of the very few surviving original right-hand-drive BMW 3.0-litre CSLs and one of just a handful in the country. Numbers matching, factory-fitted with the optional City Package, and presented in its original combination of Polaris Silver on Black corduroy trim, this car was delivered new by BMW Concessionaires G.B Ltd. in the UK.
Released from an extensive private collection, this 3.0-litre CSL still features important and rare original parts like its correct and impossible-to-find Scheel racing bucket seats, aluminum bonnet, boot lid, and door skins as well as correct 14-inch Alpina lightweight alloy wheels.
Accompanying the car is a detailed history file holding restoration receipts, ownership history, spare keys, and a photographic log of its restoration partnered with a letter from Jeffrey Dutton appraising the quality of the restoration in early 1995. Offering a uber-unique opportunity to own, drive, and invest in a seriously rare and collectible racing legend, this peerless 3.0-litre CSL is a must-experience.
Eligible for the Le Mans Classic and the Tour Auto, this original right-hand-drive 3.0-litre CSL would suit the most fastidious collector. One of the finest we’ve ever seen, worldwide.
