Perhaps the most recognizable BMW racecar of all time, the 3.0 CSL holds a unique position in the history of the Bavarian marque. After the appointment of Bob Lutz to the board of the company in 1972, he then acquired Ford’s Head of Motorsport Jochen Neerpasch to become BMW’s lead racing engineer within the newly formed BMW Motorsport GmbH. The group’s first project would be a return to touring car racing with the code E9 CSL project.

This moniker, Coupé Sport Leichtbau, represents the chassis modifications made to homologate the car for racing. Featuring a two-valve inline six-cylinder, this fuel-injected engine was developed further, eventually moving up to a slightly larger 3,003-cubic-centimeters displacement for second-series cars, and finally to 3,153 after March 1973. In 24-valve competition specification, the engine would grow to an even larger 3,498 cubic centimeters.

These mechanical progressions were paired with a spate of aerodynamic modifications upon the CSL’s Karmann-executed bodywork, and together these developments quickly turned this model into a tremendously successful contender in the European Touring Car Championship, German Touring Car Championship, FIA Group 5 events, and the American IMSA Camel GT series.

This beautifully restored, Italian-market CSL is one of 429 second-series 3.0-liter examples built between September 1972 and March 1973. An accompanying BMW Classic Certificate illustrates that the car was supplied new to BMW’s Italian distributor on 8 December 1972, and originally clad in the CSL’s ideal shade of Taiga Metallic which it still wears today. The car’s ACI Estratto shows that it was then sold to its first private owner in Rome on 2 February 1973.

Between 1983 and 2005 this CSL was retained by the same owner, and by 2009 had been exported to Switzerland where its then owner reportedly began a restoration. In 2021, the car was purchased as a stalled-and-disassembled project, and then immediately submitted to renowned marque specialists Oldenzaal Classics for the complete and fantastic €251,000 (~$268,000) restoration from bare metal which it wears so proudly today. Work orders and photographs on file illustrate the car’s transformation in great detail, and readers would be wise to note that every major mechanical and system of this CSL has been masterfully rebuilt and addressed.

Thanks to Oldenzaal’s incredible attention to detail, this rarified second-series homologation special retains many interesting features and options throughout, including a pair of ultra-desirable Scheel sport seats, power steering, wood trim, air-conditioning system, light-alloy Alpina wheels, and aluminum body panels. The accompanying BMW Classic Certificate confirms that the car also retains its original color combination and numbers-matching 3.0-liter engine, making this CSL quite a remarkable prize.