The impact of fine motoring journalism and a drive story well told started for me with an inherited collection of Motor Sport from the early ’70s.
When legendary editor Bill Boddy wrote ‘Ten European Capitals in Four Days – An Adequate Road-Test of the BMW 3.0 CSL Coupé’ for the January 1973 issue, I was hooked: 3789 miles driven (1145 on the second day alone); a highest claimed speed of 146mph; 124.7 miles devoured in a single hour along a wet autoroute; 250.3 gallons of five-star consumed at a 15.3mpg average.
Oh, and four pints of Duckhams oil burned. It was – and still is – an epic road-trip tale, but one sadly never to be repeated (at least, not without losing your licence).
The Batmobile BMW’s front winglets
Which explains why today the BMW 3.0 CSL holds a special place in my memory bank, and even more so in the ultimate incarnation of a ‘Batmobile’, as here.
This was the car that, in race guise, gave BMW Motorsport GmbH its wings when it began to thrash Ford’s previously dominant Capri RS 3100 in the 1973 European Touring Car Championship.
Bewinged and bespoilered, lean and cool, it became the car to beat on track, while being highly sought after in roadgoing form – particularly in the UK.
No homologation special since has matched the BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile (left) or Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight for raw enthusiast appeal
Joining it here is perhaps one of the greatest GT cars of all time: the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7.
It, too, was a homologation special, in this case conceived so that Stuttgart could enter the FIA’s Group 4 production GT class, also in 1973.
However, Porsche’s approach to homologation diverged quite radically from BMW’s, resulting in two race-bred road cars whose feel and drivability contrast way beyond that suggested by their engines’ opposing locations.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight’s bold graphics; this car was one of just four supplied in Gulf Blue
Porsche was still a minnow in the sports-car world at the start of the ’70s, but, thanks to Piëch family backing, it had punched above its weight and won at Le Mans in 1970 and ’71 with the 917.
All the same, building 25 cars to gain homologation had been a huge task, so when the FIA ditched the Group 4/5 regulations for a 3 Litre formula, Porsche knew its compliant but ageing 908 was no match for Ferrari’s 312.
A new tack was needed, and it came with the decision to enter the production GT class.
According to renowned marque specialist and racer Andy Prill, senior Porsche engineer Helmuth Bott drove the programme forward after seeing BMWs and Capris beating 911s at an ADAC race at Hockenheim.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s 2687cc flat-six pushed the 2.4 S motor to the limit
So why did Bott build a 2.7-litre engine for a 3-litre class?
“They didn’t want to remake the engine,” says Andy. “The 2.7 is based on the 190bhp 2.4 S crankcase; they took it to the maximum bore, using Nikasil liners, without having to move the studs.
“Then in 1972 they took two late 911S/Ts and turned them into prototype 2.7 RSs [for Renn Sport, or racing sport], while the board was blissfully ignorant of development. But eventually awareness grew, and the board committed to making 500 cars for homologation.”
With Porsche’s dealer network receptive to the incoming RS, the first 500 cars – known as the factory-order ‘RSH’ – went into production.
The Carrera RS 2.7 kept the Porsche 911’s familiar face
Built to be as light as possible, they used thinner metal, thinner glass (from Belgian firm Glaverbel) and lightweight Bilstein shock absorbers, and they were stripped of all but essential kit.
“Every car was weighed with a thin set of wheels, lightweight seats and skinny bumpers,” explains Andy. “That gave them the homologation weight.”
All cars then went back to the factory and were remade to dealer orders as either the ‘RST’ (Touring), or ‘RSL’ (Lightweight), with the Touring model 115kg heavier than the 960kg Lightweight.
Porsche had only thought of the RS – its first so-named model – as having niche appeal, but nothing could have been further from the truth: a week after its unveiling in Paris in October 1972, all were sold, save 55 that were to be converted to racing RSR specification.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s steeply raked ducktail
But it shouldn’t have been such a surprise. With the RS 2.7’s enlarged flat-six now making an impressive 210bhp at 6300rpm, acceleration was vivid, taking 5.5 secs to reach 60mph and just 15 secs to 100mph – almost Lamborghini Miura territory.
The RS 2.7’s distinctive ducktail spoiler and lower stance also distinguished it from lesser 911s.
Combined with its motorsport presence, it wasn’t long before Porsche had approved a second run of 500 cars, allowing further homologation for Group 3 production-class racing.
A final batch of 580 RS 2.7s was then built, bringing the total to 1580 cars, 111 of which were produced in right-hand-drive.
The Carrera RS 2.7’s basic cabin is devoid of superfluous extras
‘Our’ RS – chassis 9113600810, and one of only four cars supplied in Gulf Blue – has had a chequered competition history, but now presents immaculately and is currently up for sale with Cars International Heritage.
Ordered in 1973 by future German Rally Championship winner Heinz-Walter Schewe, the car was pushed into rally and hillclimb service before being returned to the factory in 1975-’76 to be prepared for the British RAC Rally in 1976.
Tragically, while competing on the Speech House stage in the Forest of Dean on Saturday 26 November, Schewe went straight on through a cordon and killed 19-year-old spectator Yvonne Davies.
The RS was badly damaged and reshelled, and Schewe continued to campaign it. Over 2013-’14 it received a full restoration, including a replacement engine, and it was purchased by Cars International Heritage from Schewe after the work had been completed.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 generates huge grip and has perfect steering, but it needs to be driven on a track to be properly appreciated
In contrast to the fat-bodied, aero-adorned crop of current hardcore 911s, this RS 2.7 looks dainty.
But there’s a purity about its ground-hugging stance and the chunky Fuchs alloys wearing 15in 215/60 Pirellis at the rear (195/65s at the front), neatly enclosed within subtly flared arches; the rear spoiler is so pronounced you can almost imagine an invisible stream of air pinning the back end to the road.
Inside, it is ultra-pared-down: the instrument cluster is standard 911 fare, with four main VDO clocks – the tacho redlined at 7250rpm and the speedo reading to 300kph – all viewed through a large and incongruous four-spoke wheel.
Floor-mounted pedals are offset to the right (like all Lightweights it’s a left-hooker), but the canted-back five-speed gearlever is nicely accessible.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s 7250rpm redline
Only the basics are catered for here: there’s even a pull-strap, no handle, to open the door.
Who cares? Turn the ignition with your left hand and the flat-six grumbles loudly into life. It needs plenty of revs to get off the line, but the engine feels free-flowing and potent.
I always think of 911s as being light-steering and skittish at the front, but the RS is nothing of the sort: the helm is perfectly weighted, and the whole car is blessed with a reassuring substance that belies both its rear-biased mass and sylphlike kerbweight.
That being said, on fast B-roads – watching out for potholes that threaten to wreck the front spoiler – the nose still bobs up and down, only with far tighter control than in a regular 911 of this era.
The Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight does without conventional doorhandles
Grip is immense, with no trace of understeer when pushed, although you start to feel the rears signposting their wayward intentions.
The flat-six engine is mighty: torque-rich in the mid-range, its soundtrack develops into a livid howl in the upper reaches as it reverberates around the thinly insulated cabin, then popping and banging as you decelerate.
Gearing is tall – 2000rpm gives around 50mph in fifth – and the change is more positive and precise than you expect.
I’d give anything to be on a track right now, because on the road you’re only enjoying 50% of the RS. And that’s plain frustrating.
The 911 Carrera RS 2.7’s back axle telegraphs quietly its intentions to bite the unwary
Fortunately, the CSL proves a very different proposition from behind the wheel.
BMW had previously severed its links with motorsport in 1970, and it was only Ford’s success with the Capri RS 3100 in the European Touring Car Championship that enticed Munich back into the fold.
Recently appointed executive vice president ‘Maximum’ Bob Lutz was quick to lure Ford’s touring-car gurus, Jochen Neerpasch and Martin Braungart, to lead BMW’s charge back into the ETCC’s Group 2 production-car class, but this time operating independently from the mothership as BMW Motorsport GmbH.
The Wilhelm Hofmeister-designed 3.0 CS coupé was chosen as a base for homologation, the Karmann-built car initially modified mainly by dint of lightening (hence CSL for Leicht, or ‘light’).
The BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile is the less focused car and rolls more in turns, but its light steering is richly communicative
Indeed, the first 169 CSLs – all in left-hand drive – retained the 2985cc, twin-carb ‘six’ from the 3.0 CS, reducing weight by use of aluminium doors, bonnet and bootlid, and thinner side-window glass (with Plexiglas for the rear panes).
Polyester bumpers and chrome wheelarch extensions adorned the CSL’s flanks, while inside Scheel bucket seats and a lack of soundproofing material differentiated it from a regular CS.
Boddy’s press car (which I’m admiring in my dog-eared 1973 issue as I write), however, was among the first of the second-phase CSLs, released in August 1972.
These cars differed by having a small capacity increase to 3003cc, allowing homologation for the ETCC’s 3-litre production class and for BMW M division’s works cars to battle with the RS 3100s.
The 3.0 CSL Batmobile wears BMW Motorsport’s colours
Their single-overhead-cam engines also received Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection, increasing output to 200bhp at 5500rpm and 200lb ft at 4300rpm.
While the 500 right-hand-drive CSLs allocated for the UK retained the aluminium panels, most were to ‘City Pack’ specification, with steel bumpers and more equipment.
It was in this guise that BMW’s UK concessionaire ended up selling more CSLs than the rest of Europe combined, despite initial misgivings about the focused model’s appeal.
But it was thanks to the CSL’s third iteration – nicknamed the ‘Batmobile’ – that BMW’s motorsport aspirations were realised.
The BMW 3.0 CSL’s M30 ‘six’ is taken out to 3153cc and 206bhp
Once again, the M30 ‘six’ received a displacement lift, this time with a longer, 84mm stroke (the previous rise had been from a 0.25mm increase in bore), for a capacity of 3153cc.
This came with moderate boosts to power and torque, now 206bhp and 215lb ft respectively.
While the additional capacity would allow scope for further tuning in the future, it was the Neerpasch/Braungart-developed bodykit that garnered the CSL not only a memorable moniker, but also a real-world performance advantage.
The roof spoiler was just one part of the BMW 3.0 CSL’s Batmobile makeover
Above the handsome Kamm tail was now mounted a prominent rear wing running the width of the bootlid and supported by neat winglets on either side; completing the rear-body treatment was a spoiler bracing the rearmost roof section, secured to slender C-pillars.
At the front, a deep, body-coloured spoiler was grafted on below the grille, in place of the bumper, and a black, aero-enhancing rubber strip now sitting atop each wing.
On the track, these freshly homologated tweaks gave the CSL the edge it needed. At the Nürburgring Six Hours in July 1973, the Batmobile was 10 secs a lap quicker, and works aces Chris Amon and Hans Stuck led a 1-2-3 victory for BMW.
The CSL then gave the marque the ETCC Group 2 drivers’ title in ’73 and every year from 1975-’79, while in the Group 5 special-production class it claimed three wins in the 1976 World Championship for Makes.
The BMW 3.0 CSL’s Alpina alloy wheels
For road cars, however, the Batmobile bodykit was never type-approved and therefore had to be fitted, post-production, by the supplying dealer – but the larger-capacity engine remained.
‘Our’ car, from BMW UK’s heritage collection, is one of just 167 Batmobiles out of a total CSL production of 1265 cars.
There’s no denying the benefits bestowed by the aero addenda (although I’d wager they’d only be felt on track), but for me it does detract from the regular CSL’s beautifully clean, elegant profile.
Nonetheless, along with its tricolour graphics stretching down its upper flanks and riding on those gorgeous 14in Alpina alloys, the bodykit does gift the car an arresting presence that humbles even the handsome Porsche alongside.
The BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile’s cabin is perfect for touring, with Scheel sports seats and clear dials
Inside, the 3.0 CSL is every bit the well-appointed grand tourer with which Boddy had been so smitten 53 years ago as he zig-zagged across Europe.
There are the same deeply bucketed Scheel seats; that finely crafted slab of timber running across the dash inset with, once again, a quartet of VDO instruments; the businesslike three-spoke sports steering wheel; and the sense of spaciousness imbued by that generous glasshouse.
And the BMW really does feel like a far larger, more luxurious machine as soon as you’re on the move.
Where the 911 felt taut, hunkered-down and keen to infuse you with every ounce of its mechanical spirit, the CSL is relatively serene in comparison.
The BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile is refined and predictable at speed, with a benignly controllable rear end
Select first in the fairly long-throw four-speed ’box and you’re struck by how flexible and linear the M30 is in this higher state of tune: working the long-travel throttle, the ‘six’ spins easily to 5000rpm as it digs into a deep well of torque, accompanied by a guttural, aerated timbre that’s vocal enough to remind you that this BMW is race-derived, but plenty refined enough for touring.
The steering is light and full of feel at anything above manoeuvring speeds, and sufficiently high-geared to make threading together a series of bends a pleasure rather than a chore.
The caveat here, though, is that in the same twisties the 911 would leave it for dead: the CSL in road trim is almost cosseting to ride in, soaking up surface irregularities with aplomb, but displaying plenty of roll during cornering and a surprising level of front-end vertical movement.
Grip from the Pirelli Cinturatos is good; if provoked the rear lets go progressively, but it returns without drama. Would you expect anything else from a 1970s BMW?
The BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile is perhaps the more attention-seeking, even in silver, but on the road it’s the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 that feels more like a stripped-out racer
To try to choose the better car here is a fool’s errand.
Both their respective racing versions commanded respect on track in an era when winning on a Sunday brought footfall to dealer showrooms on a Monday, as evidenced by the sales of both the RS and CSL.
But there is no disputing that the Porsche is far closer to its competition sibling in set-up, meaning I’d relish it in small doses on the right road and, I expect, wonder at its absolute performance on a track day.
As an all-rounder, though, the BMW takes the obvious lead. With its fine cabin ambience, lusty, sonorous ‘six’ and ability to course along a favourite road 90% as quickly as the 911, I’d soon be following in Boddy’s tyre tracks down to Monte Carlo.
Images: Max Edleston
Thanks to: Cars International Heritage; BMW UK; Porsche Club Great Britain
Factfiles
BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’
- Sold/number built 1971-’75/1265 (all CSLs)
- Construction steel monocoque, aluminium doors and bonnet, glassfibre rear bumper
- Engine iron-block, alloy-head, sohc 3153cc straight-six, electronic fuel injection
- Max power 206bhp @ 5600rpm
- Max torque 215lb ft @ 4200rpm
- Transmission four-speed manual, RWD via limited-slip differential
- Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts rear semi-trailing arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
- Steering worm and roller
- Brakes discs, with servo
- Length 15ft 2in (4630mm)
- Width 5ft 9in (1739mm)
- Height 4ft 6in (1372mm)
- Wheelbase 8ft 7in (2625mm)
- Weight 2800lb (1270kg)
- 0-60mph 7.5 secs
- Top speed 137mph
- Mpg 16
- Price new £9000 (1973)
- Price now £190-300,000*
Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
- Sold/number built 1972-‘73/200 (M471 Lightweights, plus 1380 M472 Tourings)
- Construction steel monocoque, glassfibre engine lid
- Engine all-alloy, sohc-per-bank 2687cc flat-six, Bosch fuel injection
- Max power 210bhp @ 6300rpm
- Max torque 188lb ft @ 5100rpm
- Transmission five-speed manual, RWD
- Suspension independent, at front by struts, lower wishbones rear semi-trailing arms; torsion bars, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
- Steering rack and pinion
- Brakes ventilated front, solid rear discs
- Length 13ft 8in (4165mm)
- Width 5ft 3½in (1613mm)
- Height 4ft 4in (1320mm)
- Wheelbase 7ft 5in (2260mm)
- Weight 2398lb (1088kg)
- 0-60mph 5.5 secs
- Top speed 149mph
- Mpg 16.7
- Price new £7232
- Price now £600,000-1.1m (Lightweight)*
*Prices correct at date of original publication
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