Vehicle Description
1972 BMW 3.0 CSL
VIN: 2275097
14,391 miles = 23,160 kilometers
One of 1,265 CSLs ever built
Complete concours-level cosmetic and mechanical restoration
Restoration carried out by BMW marque expert Ray Korman
23,160 original kilometers
Matching numbers engine and transmission
All original body panels
Has all correct lightweight panels
Created by BMW to race in the European Touring Car Championship
Built on November 9th, 1972, this BMW 3.0 CSL was first delivered
to Palazzolo (Verona), Italy on November 21st, 1972. Spec'd with
Polaris Metallic paint, the car arrived at the BMW Italia S.p.A
dealership.
Jim Walker, owner of Lynchburg BMW of Virginia and the second owner
of the CSL, would acquire the car and set the BMW on a path that
would see the car receiving a world-class restoration. Wanting the
best for the CSL, Jim went to Ray Korman, a BMW genius and marque
expert and the go-to source for CSL-related projects, and would
then begin a 2-year, no expense spared restoration.
All parts of the car were removed before removing the car of its
paint, with careful attention to not damage any of the original
lightweight body panels. The matching numbers engine and
transmission were removed, along with all of the suspension. With
the drivetrain and body panels removed, the interior was then
carefully removed and cataloged.
All of the mechanicals of the CSL were addressed, including the
entire drivetrain of the car being completely rebuilt. All of the
suspension components were rebuilt and refinished to
better-than-new condition. All of the proper lightweight panels
were restored, with special care being made to the rare fiberglass
front and rear bumpers. It was noted that the car's original body
panels were all intact. The replacement aluminum lightweight hood
purchased from BMW was allegedly the last OEM lightweight hood left
in their inventory. Once prepped and ready, the 3.0 would receive
its original Polaris Metallic silver paint.
With an emphasis on period-correct finishes, the interior was the
next major stage during the restoration. The wood dash was removed
and completely refinished, the gauges were removed, cleaned and
rebuilt to ensure perfect operation. The cloth Recaro seats were
retrimmed by Scheel, using OEM cloth just like the BMW factory
would have in '72. The rest of the interior was restored in a
similar fashion, with all of the surfaces and finishes brought to
concours-levels.
After finishing the CSLs restoration in 2009, Ray would sell the
car for Jim Walker where the car would then go to its most recent
owner.
Upon arriving at Canepa, the entire car was thoroughly inspected
and confirmed to be one of the finest examples of a 3.0 CSL Canepa
has ever seen. The car, in impeccable condition, only required a
light cleaning by hand of its exterior, interior and underside to
bring it back to as-new condition. Now this homologation special,
with its matching numbers engine and transmission, matching
lightweight panels, its world-class restoration carried out by a
marque expert and the heritage that follows along the CSL name, is
sure to be one of the finest early BMW 3.0 CSLs in existence.
MORE ABOUT THE 3.0 CSL:
Built to meet the homologation requirements set by the racing body
that ran the European Touring Car Championship, BMW released the
3.0 CSL in May of 1972. "L" in the designation meant leicht (light)
instead of the usual designation that BMW had used in the past
meaning lang (long). With a clever enlargement of the engine from
3.0 liters to 3,003cc, BMW was eligible to race the car in the
"over three litre" category, thus allowing for some increase in
displacement in their racing cars. Thinner sheet metal, aluminum
hood and decklid, and fiberglass front and rear bumpers were
examples of the lightweight objective that BMW sought after. With
only 1,265 ever made for the public, the CSL is an instantly
recognizable piece of BMW's history and a representation of its
heritage for street car-based racing cars.
