BMW CSL

In the world of production sedans – touring cars, as they are known in Europe – few if any cars have ever been designed with racing in mind. Like a street fighter, they are born into this world with a certain set of abilities and skills that may not be conducive to battle. But as they mature, circumstance thrusts them into situations that force them to change – to evolve – into what ultimately is a completely different beast altogether. Such is the story of a pleasant little sedan from Bavaria that was thrust onto the mean streets of Spa, the Nurburgring and Le Mans and was forced to either evolve or be beaten to death by its enemy. This pleasant car was the BMW 2800 CS or “Coupe,” but the car that it would ultimately become was the 3.0 CSL “Batmobile” – the Bavarian Brawler.

In 1965, Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) built a mid-size Karmann coupe powered by the company’s tried and true 2.0-liter inline 4-cylinder engine that was the mainstay of its 1600-2002 line of small, economical sedans. While the critics raved about its styling and appointments, their biggest criticism was for the Coupe’s substantial lack of power and performance. So in 1968, BMW developed a 2.5 and 2.8-liter inline 6-cylinder motor (slanted at 30 degrees) for the Coupe, which produced 170 bhp. As has been BMW’s way throughout its history, the company leadership felt that the best way to prove the Coupe’s increased performance would be through competition. At the time, the most competitive and challenging series for a production car in Europe was the FIA European Touring Car Championship (ETC).