BMW To Release 3.0 CSL Concept Paying Homage To Batmobile

The year was 1972 and BMW needed to produce a homologation special to enter the European Touring Car Championship. BMW created the BMW 3.0CSL and thus a legend was born. The L stood for lightweight, the engine was slightly tweaked for more power and its wacky looking aero earned it the nickname, “The Batmobile (not to be confused with the Dark Knight batman.)”

43 years later and BMW is paying homage to the Batmobile by producing a concept car that will have a lot of the same characteristics as the original 3.0 CSL. Today, that probably means copious amounts of carbon fiber, an aero kit that would make a Formula Drift fan proud and a specially tweaked engine that will have collectors chomping at the bit to scoop one up.

All BMW dropped was a single image, but the aero and deep dish wheel is very promising.

The interior is also racecar-like in nature. According to BMW, ” The rigorously pared-down interior of the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage renders its lightweight concept not only visible but tangible as well. All the elements in the cabin are absolutely essential and each constituent has a high-quality structural or driving-related function.” All that means is that the interior will only have the essentials. Probably no radio, cloth seats and no rear passenger seats.

43 years ago, with technology not what it is today, BMW had some pretty ingenious ways to pare down weight for said homologation purposes. No fancy carbon fiber was even available.

Body panels were razor thin with the steel body thinner than a normal BMW of the time period. The doors, hood and trunk were all made of aluminum. Even the windows were of a lucite material.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_E9

These racecars for the street dominated their respective race series’s. When the Batmobile’s hit the track in 1973, they won the ETCC handily. Then again in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. Suffice to say, it was a success.

Check out this ClassiccarGarage Youtube video with an even rarier Alpine spec 3.0 CSL below.