BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile"

[Gnomex]

If there was ever a car that got my complete attention it was the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile".

As a youngster I read avidly of its' achievements in Motor Sport and was over the moon when I finally laid eyes on one at a BMW Car Club event at I think Longleat House.

The "Batmobile" is just one of a very few cars that look fast, even when standing still. It has a certain presence and a very special aura.

Has anyone any recollections of the "Batmobile"? I seem to remember a photo of a black one taking off over a crest at the Nurburgring. Does anyone know of any sites about the car?

[Frank de Jong]

Try http://www.cs-zone.com/historie/wouldn'tstop.htm
Or google.

[Gnomex]

Thanks - but I can't get that like to work. Anyone else know any good sites?

[Jeremy Jackson]

Gnomex,

Try this:

http://www.cs-zone.com/E9%20CSL%20RACEHISTORIE.htm

[Gnomex]

Thanks Jeremy Jackson - just the sort of thing to get the old pulse racing!

[Pierre Martins]

We have two in South Africa.

One in race trim and actively competing in historic racing. I have photos up on my website -
http://pts106.com/BMW%20CSL%20Van%20Heerden.htm

The other one is in road trim and absolutely pristene -
http://pts106.com/BMW%20CSL%20Frank.htm

Cheers,
Pierre.

[Gnomex]

Wow! Thanks Pierre Martins. Does that race car have the later rear wing (the one with the curved end supports)?

I'd heard that at least some of the road cars were supplied with the wings, etc in a kit in the boot as this was a way of getting around the homogation rules then in force.

[Frank de Jong]

The wing in the picture looks like the 1976 group 5 wing; the body however looks like the 1975 form.
The road cars in Germany had the wing in kit form, the TUV did not allow the wing to be used on the road.

[Gnomex]

I read in the BMW Car Club magazine recently that a many 3.0 CSL's were held in store (in Belgium?) and moved on only once an order had been placed by a customer. You could have a situation where cars were registered in different years but had in fact been built at the same time on the production line.

[Brickyard]

Hello all.

I'm bringing back this thread because I think we can make this a thread like the group A ones we have. (635CSi, RS500, Rover Vitesse, ...)
How many cars raced, chassis numbers, who used them, how many survived, etc.

What do you think?

Also I'll open another thread about the Ford Capri RS2600 and RS3100 Group 2.

Regards
Luis

[Brickyard]

So to start...

In Portugal the only time we saw the 3.0 CSL racing was in the ETC races held here at Estoril in 1977 and 1978.

1977 Estoril 4H:
#37 - Luigi Racing - Jean Xhenceval (BEL) / Pierre Dieudonné (BEL) - 3º
#38 - Luigi Racing - Claude De Wael (BEL) / Eddy Joosen (BEL) - 4º
#39 - Alpina - Umberto Grano (ITA) / Dieter Quester (AUT) - 2º
#40 - Jolly Club Milano - Martino Finotto (ITA) / Carlo Facetti (ITA) - 1º

1978 Estoril 500Km:
#24 - BMW Italia - Umberto Grano (ITA) / Jean Xhenceval (BEL) - 1º
#25 - Luigi Racing - Eddy Joosen (BEL) / Raymond Van Hove (BEL) - DNF
#26 - Jolly Club Milano - Martino Finotto (ITA) / Carlo Facetti (ITA) - DNF

We never had any portuguese driver racing one of this cars here

[Alex E]

Hi Brickyard,
There was an ex Schnitzer CS that was raced in Angola by Nicha Cabral in 1971. I think he raced it in Portugal as well?
There is a Portugese forum where they are discussing it, if you use the cars registration number in a search ( LF-X-15....) I am sure you will find it.

Alex.

[Alex E]

Do any of our Portugese contributors know if Nicha Cabral is still around ? I would really like to contact him regarding his old Schnitzer coupe.
Alex