G
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E46 M3 CSL VS 3.0 CSL
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D B Couper
Active Member
What a treat!! I think the original CSL gave quite a good account of itself considering all the technology improvements in tires, turbos and transmissions in over 35 years. Good Stuff 
chicane
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D B Couper said:What a treat!! I think the original CSL gave quite a good account of itself considering all the technology improvements in tires, turbos and transmissions in over 35 years. Good Stuff
160000 Pounds adjusted for inflation? I don't know what currency converter that he is using but that isn't right. What did this CSL go for new? $12K to $14K. Oh my, lapped. How embarrassing. I have an e46 M3 and I can attest to the muscle in these machines.
Tierfreund
Well-Known Member
The show is from the UK (Top Gear) and in the early 70s imported cars were hideously expensive in the UK due to customs and taxes, plus all UK CSL came fully specked with Stadtpaket and several extras. Thus the numbers could be right. The CSL was really outrageously expensive in the UK at the time.
But that E9 CSL has had some upgrades in the rubber department (looks like 16inchers and most certainly modern rubber), so the comparo is not even quite right. A totally original CSL would have been even slower.
Still, the objective speed such cars are capable of has increased immensely over the last 35 years, but that doesn´t mean they are more fun (in fact, the last modern car I owned, a 2005 E90 330i would bore me to death at 155mph while my E3 is entertaining at 100mph)
I guess an E46 CSL would be quite a laugh though. Besides the E46 coupe is probably the second best looking coupe BMW ever made.
My BMW beauty list (coupes only):
E9
E46 coupe
E63
503
E24
But that E9 CSL has had some upgrades in the rubber department (looks like 16inchers and most certainly modern rubber), so the comparo is not even quite right. A totally original CSL would have been even slower.
Still, the objective speed such cars are capable of has increased immensely over the last 35 years, but that doesn´t mean they are more fun (in fact, the last modern car I owned, a 2005 E90 330i would bore me to death at 155mph while my E3 is entertaining at 100mph)
I guess an E46 CSL would be quite a laugh though. Besides the E46 coupe is probably the second best looking coupe BMW ever made.
My BMW beauty list (coupes only):
E9
E46 coupe
E63
503
E24
c. £7k depending on options.
An e - type was about £2.5k
They were massive money and £150-160 sounds about right.
A Bat was £9k i think.
An e - type was about £2.5k
They were massive money and £150-160 sounds about right.
A Bat was £9k i think.
Tierfreund
Well-Known Member
Believe it. In the 70s the UK was more or less a comunist country. Import taxes on luxury goods were massive. As were the VAT on cars (halved for kit cars hence the barn auto indstry).
Those were the days when you could have the then new Jaguar XJ-S only in red, white or yellow because the workers in the factory paint shop couldn´t be bothered to handle other colours...
I lived in the UK from 70-73 (as a small child) and there were days when we had electrical power for only 2-3 hours per day due to strikes. And the british pound plummeted to practical worthlessness.
Only in the 80s did ole Maggie Thatcher break the grip of the unions by famously leting the coal miners go on strike indefinitely and never budging.
Those were the days when you could have the then new Jaguar XJ-S only in red, white or yellow because the workers in the factory paint shop couldn´t be bothered to handle other colours...
I lived in the UK from 70-73 (as a small child) and there were days when we had electrical power for only 2-3 hours per day due to strikes. And the british pound plummeted to practical worthlessness.
Only in the 80s did ole Maggie Thatcher break the grip of the unions by famously leting the coal miners go on strike indefinitely and never budging.
Tierfreund
Well-Known Member
chicane said:
While I believe to be the figures of 7k and 9k (BAT) in GBP to be correct:
I didn´t state them, 3.0 CSL did.
All I´m chiming into is that the CSL was hideously expesive in the UK at the time. Wether or not it would be the equivalent of 160kGBP today I dare not say. Though inflation was incredible in the UK in the 70s and early 80s:
1982 8.6%
1981 11.9%
1980 18.0%
1979 13.4%
1978 8.3%
1977 15.8%
1976 16.5%
1975 24.2%
1974 16.0%
1973 9.2%
1972 7.1%
1971 9.4%
http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/
says it would be about 60.000 GBP in 2005 (the date of the shown clip)
And that would be about 95.000USD today (the pound is a bit nervous these days). I´d call that expensive
As for the claim of 160.000 GBP, well the excerpt is from a show called Top Gear that is notorious for beeing very entertaining. And some exaggeration is deemed normal at that show. Adding a "one" would not be considered much of a deal, not even if its a leading one....
:wink:
timt
Well-Known Member
Original UK price of around £7K is right. RPI or Sterling value index would inflate that to a today value of £60K - £65K, the earnings index would move it just above £100K so which ever way one looks at it £160K seems to be somewhat excessive.
Exchange rate to the US Dollar was around 2.44 in 1973 which would translate to $17K ... in the ballpark for Chicane even though excessively priced in the UK relative to its competition at the time.
More licence seems to have been taken in the show with regard to lapping the 3.0 CSL ... probably took a tea break on the back straight! Even though it was being driven with a little more "respect" than the M3 its lap time on the show circuit should be less than 20 seconds down given the Chevrolet Lacetti can be rowed around the same circuit in 1min 45secs vs the M3 in 1min 28 secs - different drivers but close enough for the argument!
Exchange rate to the US Dollar was around 2.44 in 1973 which would translate to $17K ... in the ballpark for Chicane even though excessively priced in the UK relative to its competition at the time.
More licence seems to have been taken in the show with regard to lapping the 3.0 CSL ... probably took a tea break on the back straight! Even though it was being driven with a little more "respect" than the M3 its lap time on the show circuit should be less than 20 seconds down given the Chevrolet Lacetti can be rowed around the same circuit in 1min 45secs vs the M3 in 1min 28 secs - different drivers but close enough for the argument!
The csl was three times the price of an e - type. Would you buy the equivalent of an e type for c.£20k today?
timt
Well-Known Member
Not a chance but times have changed. Both BMW and Jaguar have repositioned themselves vs their respective markets in the seventies although that doesn't bridge the gap ... it's unbridgeable. Despite being severely overpriced by today's standards, BMW still sold all of them, and pretty quickly too. Said something for the company's image then, sadly not now, and the statement made by the then customers of those cars.
Oh that BMW had got a better builder who might have made a shell that resisted time a little more effectively.
Oh that BMW had got a better builder who might have made a shell that resisted time a little more effectively.