CSL with factory individual options

[CSL 1973]

Went through my archive of old BMW mags and saw a very interesting picture in BMW Journal number 6 from 1975 (yearly version of the factory BMW Magazine). On page 56 there is a nice b/w picture of the former German football (soccer) star Uli Hoeness (Bayern München) in his newely delivered 3.0 CSL. The picture is taken outside the BMW factory and in the text it says that Hoeness is very happy for the delivery of the dreamcar - his new CSL.

The very interesting issue is the fact fact that it looks like an factory individual CSL. The car has a dark colour (black, dark blue or dark green), wider wings (like the race ones but for the streeet) and a special set of stripes (not normal CSL or Motorsport) with his initials UH on the side. Furthermore, the CSL is equipped with full Bat kit including the three fin rear spoiler, some special BBS wheels and low profile tires. The CSL is a very late one and most likely from the last batch of the 57 ones (VIN range 4355001-4355057).

If this CSL was delivered like this from the factory, it shows that it was possible to order CSL with individual options already during the 70's. Interesting!

Cheers

 

[feri]

Hello,

I guess you are talking about this issue of BMW Journal: http://www.historicalarchive.bmw.com/data/documents/20/00161641_m.pdf (23 mb pdf)

The CSL experts here at the board might add some more bits to the story, but in my opinion it is not the so called invidual bmw programm we had seen from the 80's until today.

We all known that besides the motorsport racing success, the 2nd bigest help for a car brand sales if a well known celebrity advertise a car. In this case some photo is made about the car and the new owner, which can be used in different magazines.

I think that it is a random luck to see this picture in bmw journal. Since the success of the early 3xx series before ww2 (327, 328, etc) lots of celebrity bought bmws. I am sure that some of them has good contact at bmw to order special color, engine, or any other equipment. Sometimes the factory might made a special cars for these celebrities, and the celebrity got the car for free -> helping promotion of the car.

BMW is very bad about documenting the special productions and equipment of its cars - think about when bmw says they lost all ordered e9 equipment lists. Before 1975 it is possible that a few dozen special or "individual" cars were made by bmw.

Lets go back to the CSL story. In a magazine published around 1975 i have seen photos about a 3.0 csl with 80's style schnitzer side stripes (something like on the schitzer 323i turbo). In a uk periodic magazine there was a 3.0 csl picture with black front spoiler (early uk csl type like the one in the famous motor sport 1973 article) with CSL word and the blue / white roundel on the front spoiler.

And about the last 40 + 17 batch. As I know it was hard to sell these 3 1/2 series of CSLs, so to help the sales anyone could order every possible (3.0 CS / Csi, or bmw motosport) parts for his car, inculiding air condition for example. So it might be possible that several such "individual" 3.0 csl car exists. Who knows all the 1265 3.0 CSLs ? Everything is possible.

To be honest I don't think that we can call these cars individual bmw cars. Individual bmw means there is a separate bmw brochure with clear information about what you can order. But for the CLSs i haven't seen any separate brochure about individual options.

The 3.0 csl was like "you can order almost anything for the car - under the desk" car, like the e12 525/528/528i motorsport cars.

 

[Honolulu]

I'd only add that we have little assurance that the car as pictured, is the way the factory delivered it. Could have spent some time at a "tuner" after initial delivery.

It's a publicity photo....

 

[DJSimca]

Indeed very interesting...

Another thing which is a bit strange is the fact that the car has the Batmobil-kit. I thought that the German TÜV did not allow cars to be delivered with the rear spoiler fitted ... or perhaps they had changed their minds in 1975

 

[PV-ALPINA]

CSL INDIVIDUAL

Big ? what does this article prove? According to me nothing. We do not know the chassinumber, and if we do, probably we would have some difficulty in searching for the correct info at BMW how this car was originally set up, reason, becasue there is very little info stored about it.

Just as much speculation as you have about the sunroof originality and the BMW proof about it. The proof is just an indicaiton that the chassinumber was manufactured as an CSL, but there is no evidence that a sunroof was there or not. Even less if the car has been restored with a "new" body.

We can just speculate, but assuming that an article from mid 70-ties showing a picture of what is said to be an original CSL with some strange feature added to it would be an indicaiton that BMW delivered individual CSL, is to go a little bit too far for my taste.

/Johan

 

[CSL 1973]

The referred issue of the BMW Journal was published in November 1975. Logically, we can assume that the photo was taken at the very latest around September/October 1975. The last batch of the CSLs (57 cars) were built between 1/74 and 10/75 and only late cars came with the three fin rear spoiler. The CSL on the picture has also the bigger side mirrors and windscreen wipers painted in black etc which also were standard on late produced cars. As it says in the text, Mr Hoeness got a new CSL delivered and I think that most likely his car was modified, due to his wishes, before the delivery.

The photo is taken outside the BMW factory and normally these kind of celeberty photos are taken, on delivery, when the car is brand new. The celeberties normally does not have the time or interest to come to the factory and have the photo taken together with a used car.

I agree with feri that in relation to CSLs, most likely "almost everything was possible to order - inofficially" (as long as you had the right connections and/or the money).

Cheers

 

[2275xxx]

The first CSL with electric mirrors was 4355037 (december 1974).
So the Hoeness car was certainly made in 1975.

I agree with Feri and CSL_1973: special people could order special cars.

There was at least one other 4355 car fitted with Gr2 wing extensions from the factory.

 

[CSL 1973]

Many thx for the info 2275xxx. That explains why I have seen photos of 4355049 with the big electrically adjustable side-mirror. I have also been told that some first owners ordered, from the factory, normal CSi seats in their LHD CSLs. In the original sales brochure for CSL it is says that it is possible to order "your individual CSL". I think with the knowledge we today have (e.g. the Hoeness car) it might be a proof of the possibilities.

One could say that BMW had their first ideas of a individual programme already during the 70s!

Another interesting fact about the CSL is that RHD CSL, after leaving the factory in Germany, most of them were stored in a storage building in Belgium for a certain time period. When each individual RHD CSL were sold, the car was individually transported to UK or Australia etc.

That explains why the first registration date on the RHD CSLs does not follow the chronological order by the VIN. If a buyer wanted a fjord one, they simply took one of the fjord ones from the storage in Belgium.

The more you dig into the "magic world of the CSL production" the more interesting it gets!

Cheers

 

[2275xxx]

CSL_1973, what you are saying about VINs and chronology appears to be true for LHD CSLs as well.

There seem to have been batches of shells, which were stored somewhere. When they needed one, they would pick the first shell with the right color.

For example, the 110 Bats of 1973.

All cars from 2275440 to 2275485 or 2275486 are Polaris, then there is a sequence of Chamonix cars at least up to 2275502.
(I am actually not sure about 437 to 439, they could also have been Polaris).

Easy to believe that the chronology of these Bats goes 430-431-...
But it is not the case: the first car to be registered was 2275502, then 436, 489, 487, 431, 432, 430,... Then I do not know.

 

[AndyP]

Interesting detective work guys. Let's not forget though that Uli Hoeness was a soccer god back in the days playing in Munich and I am sure BMW corporate was more than happy to gift him a car for some PR. He stuck to his roots and now coaches the best soccer team in Germany (Bayern Muenchen) but from what I can tell is now sponsored by Audi. What I want to know is what happened to the car? Does he still own it? Did he wrap it around a tree? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[2275xxx]

Why not ask him ?

[email protected]