When BMW first announced the revival of the 3.0 CSL, fans were immediately disappointed by two things: its cost ($750,000 euros) and its limited availability (50 units). Since only 50 will ever be made, few BMW enthusiasts will ever see one in person, let along drive one, especially in the United States market. Only two 3.0 CSLs are known to have made their way to the U.S. Thankfully, one of them can be seen by anyone that makes their way to BMW of Murrieta in Murrieta, California.
Boris Said, the owner of both the car and the dealership, posted some photos of the BMW 3.0 CSL to Instagram, telling people to come by and check it out. It’s actually really great that Said is putting his 3.0 CSL in the showroom for anyone to see. It’s such an incredibly rare and expensive car, you’d think its owners would immediately lock it away in a hermetically sealed vault, to preserve and increase its value. But Said is leaving it in his showroom for all to see.
The BMW 3.0 CSL is, in essence, a heavily modified M4. It starts as a base model M4 but gets completely bespoke body work that looks very much like the 3.0 CSL Hommage Concept from a few years back. It then gets a classic M livery, gold wheels, and some killer aero. It’s significantly better looking than the actual M4 and is what BMW should have made the M4 from the beginning, rather than leaving this design exclusively for millionaires.
Under the hood, BMW turned the wick up on its 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six “S58” engine, giving it 560 horsepower, more than even the M4 CSL. It also exclusively uses a six-speed manual gearbox, with no automatic option available. The gear lever itself is a throwback to classic BMW levers, with a wide, flat top. It’s also said to have revised suspension and steering, to make it more fun and more engaging than the BMW M4. While it might not be as extreme as the M4 CSL, it should be more engaging to drive.
If you live in the Murrieta area, head over to the BMW dealership and check out the 3.0 CSL in person. It’s probably the only one you’ll ever be able to see and who knows how long it will be there. Hopefully Said actually drives this thing around a bit, so people can see it on the road, but it’s good that he’s showing it off to the public, at least.
[Photos provided to us by instagram.com/6_phooter_]