Horatiu reported today that the M3 CSL would be arriving for sale in 2010. There are some key details that he went over with the 470hp, more extensive use of Carbon Fiber, and of course, the added performance. He quoted a 4.5s 0-60 time. That is a very reasonable number. BMW claims a 0-60 time of the current M3 at 4.7s. Of course we all know that a new E90/E92 M3 will do 4.1s to 60. If you didn't know that, now you do.

A new CSL would no doubt launch to 60, in my non-expert opinion, of about 3.4-3.7s, all depending on the transmission. 


If the CSL sheds a few pounds (200 according to the article), this would benefit the CSL greatly, meaning that the M3 would go from 3,704lbs to 3,504lbs. That means that BMW will do just like they did with the E46 M3 CSL and strip the radio, air conditioning, and automatic seats, all while making the trunk floor and trunk lid out of cardboard and plastic. Let's take another thing into consideration. The M3 CSL will likely only recieve the M-DCT as the transmission. This is a safe guess since the older M3 CSL only came in SMG II.

The M-DCT is supposed to knock 0-60 times down by .2-.3s. That is a lot just because of the transmission. We must all take into consideration that so much more than power goes into making a car a sub 5.0s performer to 60. Just aerodynamics alone can make a car shed a tenth or two to 60… The old SMG tranny didn't so much take the 60 times down as much as it just helped to control the car better around the track, particularly the Nürburgring. The E46 M3 CSL successfully lapped the 'Ring in 7:50 dead. That is 15 seconds faster than the E92 M3 and .01 slower than the Porsche 996 911 GT3. Interesting, I say. 

If the M-DCT does for the E92 CSL what it does for the regular M3, we should be in for a treat. I would still rather have a traditional manual offered for when I drive on the street. I know that the paddle shift technology is exceeds anything the best driver could ever do with a manual, but for the street it is so much more gratifying, I think. 

There are two main questions, at least in my head as a BMW enthusiast, will the CSL be sold in America? The original E36 M3 'CSL' or 'Lightweight', as it is technically called, was offered in America (The Lightweight E36 M3 was advertised as the 'Lightweight', but was called the CSL by BMW AG. CSL actually translates to "Coupe Sports Lightweight", so either is correct), but the E46 CSL was not. The second question I have for BMW is, will there be an E90 M3 CSL? Probably not, I'm guessing. It is highly possible that the M3 CSL could be offered in America, especially since people have warmed up to paying $70,000 for the regular M3. Remember, the U.S.A. is the largest BMW market, and the largest for BMW ///Motorsport… 

The last thing is the cost. The report has the cost at roughly $140,000. This makes sense as it is twice the cost of a fully loaded M3. I doubt that it will be that high, though. Expect the M3 CSL to compete heavily with the 997 911 GT3/RS and the Nissan GTR/GTR V-Spec. The GT3 costs $107,500 base with the RS being $124,900. So expect the price to be dropped in the middle of that. I'm guessing about $114,000, which is a little less than what I've seen brand new GT3's go for at a dealer lot. I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but, when I guessed the E90/E92 M3 pricing before it ever came out, I was correct. While all of my friends were saying $65,000 base, I said no more than $55-56,000 base. I was correct. The only reason I was thinking more logically is due to the fact that BMW knows they can't get away with selling an M3 for that much, they would still sell like hotcakes, but BMW wouldn't meet its worldwide goal of 100,000+ M3's sold. The E46 M3 sold a little over 90,000+ units worldwide. 

My M3 CSL prediction is this: Price: $114-120,000, Horsepower/Torque: 475hp/323lb-ft of torque, 0-60: 3.5s, Top Speed: 191 MPH, 'Ring time: 7:34.3. Also expect a full Alcantera interior, from seats, steering wheel, headliner, shifter, e-brake, so on and so forth. 

Just so you have a little reference on how good the CSL was in E46 guise, here is the Top Gear test of the E46 M3 CSL.

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Article by Josh from RawAutos.com

Photos taken from: E36 M3 CSL- BMW M Registry, E46 M3 CSL- E90Post

'Ring lap times borrowed from: RawAutos Forum