Series 1 Batmobile for sale at RM Auctions - Monterey

coupeguy

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One of my old CSLs, a series one batmobile vin 2275441 going up for auction at R&M in Monterey this month, link is attached. Should be interesting to see if the economic situation the world is in will support their estimate of up to $160k. If anyone here is a really serious buyer for a car like this you are welcome to email me at [email protected] for further info on the build.

One thing I would like to correct, Carl Nelson had very, very little to do with the car, a shop in Salt Lake City, Schneiders did most of the body and paint, a fellow in Boulder did the drivetrain, upholstery by a guy in Boulder, CO and I did the rest other than a few detail bits like applying the decals and mounting the roof hoop which at the time I felt would be better left to someone who had done it before. Car was sold for WAY less than the auction estimates, but in the nineties their rarity and special status was not really recognized by anyone other than coupe-o-philes.

http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=MO11&CarID=r267&fc=0
 

d-ace

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As one classic car shop owner told me once, there are only a few 1971-75 coupe models that will ever sell for big $$$. And first, it must have a ground up restoration to even look at not just a patch job……….
 

JFENG

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No truth in auction writeups

I've attended a few auctions in the last 2 years and have found generally that auction writeups are often pretty far from the truth. Several times I avoided bidding on cars with huge hidden issues because I researched the cars thoroughly via the respective clubs. In one case I thought the auction writeup was so misleading that I asked a club historian to call the auction house. They corrected the gross misrepresentations only 3 days before the auction, and thankfully I had already decided not to fly over to bid (UK auction).

Anyway, still looks like a great car and I'd be shocked if it goes for less than $100k.

John
 

Arde

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Hi guys,

I am presently on the west coast having 2 weeks holiday with my wife and doing the trip
from San Francisco to Vegas. We were yesterday in Monterey / Carmel and I took some time to check 2275 441 that will be presented at the auction.

I shot some pics that I will upload when I will back home but if this car fetches USD 160k something must be REALLY wrong with the CSL market.

I do not want to offend nobody but If I would buy this car, I would probably restore it. The car is not bad but zillions of small wrong things definitely need to be changed / done and this can only be correctly done putting the car to bare metal (this is the way I would do it)

Not sure all thin gauge panels still are there but this is probably the kind of thing nobody cares about when buying a CSL ?!

That car is not mine, but if it were, I would love to see the pictures you upload, as you have been saying the car is wrong from a single photo.
 

d-ace

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Glad to see there are some real coupe enthusiast still out there that know there is genuine value in what is left of these 40-year old coupes.

Also, anyone ever check out the difference between a 3.0CSL and 3.0CSI, not much? A few aluminum body parts (coupes are light enough already) and rims, seats, spoilers plus some CSI’s came with the 5-speed trans.
 

dp

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That car is not mine, but if it were, I would love to see the pictures you upload, as you have been saying the car is wrong from a single photo.
-snipe- he said he inspected it
 

Arde

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-snipe- he said he inspected it

The gripe started on a separate thread, before landing on the US. I stared at the single picture and felt pretty stupid not finding a single item out of place.
 

coupeguy

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Actually I think this is personal, yannick simply loves to downgrade and ridicule just about anything I say or do having to do with CSLs. Apparently, someone has made yannick the world authority on anything E9 lightweight. I believe on a very early thread or perhaps the old site he told the world I know nothing about CSLs. If someone is aware of who made this french guy the world authority on lightweights I would love to know who the hell it was. Arde, staring at that picture should not show anything wrong because there is nothing wrong, especially anything that can be seen in that picture.

Story on the car is I bought it from Schneiders autobody in SLC in the nineties as a rolling finished shell with mostly new panels. Purchased for myself, but during the process a fellow named Bob Spears made me an offer for the car which I accepted. Car was finished to his specs, so it has an alloy trunk lid instead of steel and plexiglass windows which were not used on Batmobiles, only on the early lightweights. Honestly I dont know for sure the steel is all lightweight, you'll have to ask yannick if it is, he knows everything. It was restored as a DRIVER, not a museum piece and the buyer bought it as such. It does not have the original engine, it is a 79 Euro L block 3.5 dressed to look like the original 3153. Drivetrain was all rebuilt by a fellow in Boulder, Art Krill and the upholstery also by a fellow in Boulder now out of business. The car is not perfect, its a DRIVER, yannick, a DRIVER. I believe Bob enjoyed the car as such and the price it sold for was gratifying to me as an affirmation of its value, which I have believed all along. Batmobiles and CSLs in general are too rare and beautiful to be hidden under a bushel forever.

The primary reason I am posting this is I am really tired of yannicks attitude. He is not THE AUTHORITY, I dont believe any one person is or should be. The skimpy history available from BMW makes for a lot of speculation and conjecture, some of which might even be correct. To me, the price paid for the car affirms that not everyone gives a damn about matching numbers and absolute correctness, I really hope they just plan to enjoy the car for what it is: rare, beautiful and fun to drive.
 

Arde

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I know nothing about CSLs and Batmobiles yet share the interest in the obscure trivia, so I was hoping he would back up his critique with some substance. We are all used to harsh words on cars represented here or found on the net, I don't think we mind that and the last thing I would enjoy is a politically correct board where we are all complimenting each others rusty buckets.

I was just calling for the substance on his "zillion things that are wrong" comment, and see if he ventures to post the pictures of him and the wife checking the car knowing that what goes around comes around. He may get a post stating a zillion things that are wrong with him and his wife's in the picture.
 

d-ace

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Well there maybe some things wrong with it although for the person that just sold it there is $150,000 things correct about it and that’s a fact, in of story. Anyone buying a coupe at that price obviously wanted the coupe and very pleased with what they bought…..
 

RonP

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I have seen the car in person back in 2009 and, yes Bob used the car as a driver and not a museum piece. It was very well represented by Bob and was a beautiful example. Funny how the muscle car crowd and the Porsche crowd are so adamant about having the numbers match, but the BMW crowd just kinda sluffs it off. Great price for this example.
 

HB Chris

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This CSL was at Cars and Coffee today in Irvine, driven there by Freeman Thomas, head of Ford design. It was bought by a collector in the SF Bay Area who is a friend of Alois Ruf and will remain in California. As RonP has stated, it is a driver but a very nice driver. The exterior and interior are both very, very nice. The engine itself would benefit from a refreshening of the components such as intake logs, valve cover, etc with a good media blasting and refinishing. There were two other bidders, one of whom owns Crevier BMW in Santa Ana and has a very large collection of BMWs, this may have driven the price up in the end. Anyway, it was nice to see and enjoy.
 

eastsideM3

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Actually I think this is personal, yannick simply loves to downgrade and ridicule just about anything I say or do having to do with CSLs. Apparently, someone has made yannick the world authority on anything E9 lightweight. I believe on a very early thread or perhaps the old site he told the world I know nothing about CSLs. If someone is aware of who made this french guy the world authority on lightweights I would love to know who the hell it was. Arde, staring at that picture should not show anything wrong because there is nothing wrong, especially anything that can be seen in that picture.

Story on the car is I bought it from Schneiders autobody in SLC in the nineties as a rolling finished shell with mostly new panels. Purchased for myself, but during the process a fellow named Bob Spears made me an offer for the car which I accepted. Car was finished to his specs, so it has an alloy trunk lid instead of steel and plexiglass windows which were not used on Batmobiles, only on the early lightweights. Honestly I dont know for sure the steel is all lightweight, you'll have to ask yannick if it is, he knows everything. It was restored as a DRIVER, not a museum piece and the buyer bought it as such. It does not have the original engine, it is a 79 Euro L block 3.5 dressed to look like the original 3153. Drivetrain was all rebuilt by a fellow in Boulder, Art Krill and the upholstery also by a fellow in Boulder now out of business. The car is not perfect, its a DRIVER, yannick, a DRIVER. I believe Bob enjoyed the car as such and the price it sold for was gratifying to me as an affirmation of its value, which I have believed all along. Batmobiles and CSLs in general are too rare and beautiful to be hidden under a bushel forever.

The primary reason I am posting this is I am really tired of yannicks attitude. He is not THE AUTHORITY, I dont believe any one person is or should be. The skimpy history available from BMW makes for a lot of speculation and conjecture, some of which might even be correct. To me, the price paid for the car affirms that not everyone gives a damn about matching numbers and absolute correctness, I really hope they just plan to enjoy the car for what it is: rare, beautiful and fun to drive.
Yannick doesnt have an attitude, he has a standard and if I was spending over 100K on a car I would definitely look to him, for advice on these cars, because he knows every nut and bolt that was fitted on these cars from the factory.
If you have lower standards and dont care as much about originality, you might be insulted that he would critique this restoration, but if you want an honest answer as to how a CSL compares to the highest standards as far as originality and restoration, there are very few people that know what he knows, and that includes just about every retoration shop in the states. Dont take it personal.
 

dp

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... I was hoping he would back up his critique with some substance... ... the last thing I would enjoy is a politically correct board where we are all complimenting each others rusty buckets...

That particular poster has been be arbitrary in both complements and critiques.
Despite the endorsement from eastside M3, their sporadic appearances online
(with lots of self-promoting foto posts) combined w/failing to post the claimed fotos
are not strong endorsements of the critique's credibility.

Incidentally, I do not minimize the influence of that particular poster's net presence
on public perception of "value" ... if they truly believe that car was "well-sold",
then their arbitrary chortlings are a part of the problem, if there "is" a "problem"
(and that of course depends on your definition of "is" ;-) )
 

giannicsl

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SOMETIMES THE TROPICAL STORMS GENERATE NEW LIFE!

YANNICK quite rightly!

I trust HIM ONLY IF I HAVE TO BUY A DU CSL REAL AND NOT CLONE!

I DO NOT HAVE HAIR ON THE TONGUE!

Yannick and the best expert CSL WORLD OF THE WORLD !!!!!

WHO WANTS be offended! Does not interest me!

Of silence AROUND ON THIS FORUM OR EVEN TOO MUCH There!

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO WRITE THAT SHOULD THE CSL is BEAUTIFUL, BUT NOT TOO EXPENSIVE FOR MARKET AND ORIGINAL!

NOT HAPPY BUYING MORE THAN 50.000 $!!!! NOT A DOLLAR MORE!

HELLO
 
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