bmw 3.0 csl laguna seca onboard
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Symphonic Combustion: BMW 3.0 CSL At Laguna Seca

Very recently we published a article on Colin Chapman; the legendary founder of Lotus He was always one of those who bet the most to take care of lightness and aerodynamics as much or more than the power of the engine, thus achieving spectacular results in F1 thanks to bullets with wheels such as the Lotus 25 or the innovative Lotus 78 endowed with “ground effect". However, this manufacturer was not the only one that in the early 70s became obsessed with airflows and the weight / power ratio: far from the English countryside, in Munich, the engineers of Bmw motorsport they were cooking something.

Something that came to be called the "batmobile”For, among other modifications, its bodywork appliques and its lightening. A perfect car as a representative sports car of the brand while also devouring fans in the most demanding touring car championships.

bmw 3.0 csl batmobile
BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile, it is hard to believe that this was its full version 'standard' (Photo: RM Sotheby's)

Thus was born what is one of the greatest legends of the European Touring Car Championship and a true touchstone in the history of BMW, being the first model to come out of its Motorsport division: the 3.0CSL - "father”Of all the M who have come after- that with their Almost 50 years he continues giving this impressive recital at the Laguna Seca Circuit piloted by the editor of the magazine Road & Track Sam Smith in the past Rolex Monterey Motorsport Meeting 2018. If you like motor sound… You are going to love this.

BMW 3.0 CSL 'BATMOVIL': BORN TO RACE

BMW has always been a company with a sporting identity. From the 328 dominators of the Mille Miglia At the end of the 30s until its numerous engines for F1, the Bavarian house has launched a multitude of models full of sporting successes among which, at least for us, the 3.0 CSL (1971-1975) stands out. A vehicle designed to win the European Touring Car Championship in direct competition with the Ford Capri. And boy did he achieve the goal ... Since it was the winner in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.

And not only because of its victories, since the 3.0 CSL was the first BMW to come out of the Motorsport division, which had to work hard to turn the CSi four-seater coupe into the beast you just saw in the video from Laguna Seca. Only in this way, being developed from a commercial model, would it be admitted in the touring car championships, with its engine of 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder injection-fed capable of delivering 206CV in the homologated version of 1973, reaching over 400CV in specifically prepared units.

Although this may not seem like a huge accumulation of power, the truth is that BMW engineers saw and wanted to control the character of an extremely nervous car -which dropped by 181 kilos compared to the E9 CSi-, accused by the pilots of being as fast as it is difficult to control. And we believe it, because although Sam Smith explains in the video that the reason for his steering wheels and counter steering lies in a logic error that prevented him from receiving new tires on time ... The truth is that the driving exercise that we attended aboard the 3.0 CSL is the hardest.

AERODYNAMICS TO LINK THE POWER

The solution that those responsible for Bmw motorsport They found the lack of stability of the car did not reside in modifying the chassis but the bodywork, playing with the way in which the wind interacts with it. For this purpose, various appliques were arranged that gave the 3.0 CSL its characteristic grandiloquent and angular appearance in the race, being the inspiration for more than one nicknamed him "the batmobile".

bmw 3.0 csl laguna seca onboard
Source: Sam Smith

Jokes aside, the truth is that this aerodynamic kit was able to transform around 170 units of the model a born winner, solving grip and stability problems in the company of a set of especially wide tires. Thus, the explosive cocktail of aerodynamics and lightness made the BMW 3.0 CSL one of the best racing cars in history; the best way to inaugurate the mythical M saga and that, as you have seen in the video ... It continues to maintain its ability to fascinate intact.

What do you think?

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Written by Miguel Sánchez

Through the news from La Escudería, we will travel the winding roads of Maranello listening to the roar of the Italian V12; We will travel Route66 in search of the power of the great American engines; we will get lost in the narrow English lanes tracking the elegance of their sports cars; We will speed up the braking in the curves of the Monte Carlo Rally and we will even get dusty in a garage while rescuing lost jewels.

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