Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, BMW, Special/Limited Editions
REPORT: BMW cancels development of E92 M3 CSL
There were around 1,400 examples of the BMW e46 M3 CSL built, and by all accounts they were exceptionally well received. However, according to Ludwig Willisch, the boss of the automaker's M division, the current e92 M3 won't get the same treatment. He – or perhaps the accountants – feel that "based on current numbers, there is most likely insufficient demand for the M3 CSL."
If a current scorching version of the e92 were to exist, it would have been bumped by anywhere from 36 to 56 horsepower, shed 200 pounds or more, worn some different tires and a set of bigger lungs. In light of the possible volume, though, which would be small, BMW – or again, its accountants – would rather focus on the X6 and X5 for now. Thanks for the tip, Mike!
[Source: Car]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
BigMcLargeHuge 9:03AM (8/27/2008)
So... BMW is basically giving up on high-performance cars, is that it?
No M1, no CSL. Just C/SUVs and hybrids.
Wonderful. BMW is the new Volvo. Cushy family cars for environmentalists.
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SOhp101 9:43AM (8/27/2008)
Reminds me of those commercials where they say they can focus on performance because they don't need to answer to another company. Either that was a lie or they changed their mind about the definition of performance.
I think BMW is trying really hard to turn into Mercedes-Benz in the 90's.
rsfourever 10:04AM (8/27/2008)
by the way, it's not SUV, it's SAV!!!! pelase get it right! sports ACTIVITY vehicle. that clearly means that it is a performance vehicle and not a soccer mom car, or as we say in france "une bagnole de papi" :)
BigMcLargeHuge 10:45AM (8/27/2008)
If the XC90, Q7 and Cayenne are SUVs, so is the X5.
Regardless of what they told you, its a soccer-mom vehicle.
And the X6 is an AWD car, nothing more special than that. I don't care how much suspension travel it has.
If it looks/walks/quacks like a duck, its an effing duck.
rsfourever 11:00AM (8/27/2008)
hey bigmac, i think you missed my sarcasm there buddy...
BigMcLargeHuge 11:25AM (8/27/2008)
Blame it on I'm just so distraught at the news!
3seriesisking 12:56PM (8/27/2008)
So you are going to blame a car company for not building a car there is going to be low demand for??
Fact is, the car companies are going to build cars there is a demand for.
I don't know if you've noticed or not but the economic demand for "greener" cars is a wee bit higher than that of high-performance sports cars.
If companies make cars that they sell fewer of they won't have the capital to build any cars at all before too long.
Maybe you guys should go back and retake Econ. 101 and quite blaming a company for responding to consumer demand.
Not so smart my friend.
BigMcLargeHuge 2:28PM (8/27/2008)
What does this have to do with intelligence?
We're complaining about the death of a great performance car. Where in any of the above 7 posts did you see anyone say this was a 'dumb' move by BMW. Its lamenting, not 'blaming' as you say.
If you're not bright enough to follow along the topic of conversation, maybe you shouldn't be commenting on 'smart'.
3seriesisking 6:15PM (8/27/2008)
So your going to sit there and tell me you are not implying this is a dumb move by BMW? Can you really tell me that is not underlining a single one of the comments I responded to?
Maybe blaming was the wrong word for me to use but you are obviously criticizing them for making the moves they are making which is equally as "dumb" a comment because they are only responding to consumer demand, they aren't selling out their long heritage of building driver enthusiast cars as your comment suggests.
BigMcLargeHuge 3:30PM (8/28/2008)
That's exactly what I'm telling you. But at least you didn't come off as a douche by telling others what they are thinking. Oh wait, yes you did.
"they aren't selling out their long heritage of building driver
enthusiast cars as your comment suggests."
It would seem that the rest of this posts on this thread would disagree with you on that.
Do you run through every post on every thread when someone exasperates at the fact that the X/Y/Z is being discontinued? And call every person that is annoyed at market trends stupid?
If so, you have a lot of work to do. And not many friends to make.
But you're probably just getting defensive because you think all BMWsright down to the 325/28/30i are 'ultimate driving machines.' LOL, please.
3seriesisking 10:26PM (8/28/2008)
First, you don't know me so please don't start calling me sophomoric names.
Second, go through and look at my comments and see how I post....I don't hide my posts like you do
I have no beef with you so please quit trying to make this a bigger deal than it is.
BigMcLargeHuge 10:14AM (8/29/2008)
Lets get a few things straight first.
- I don't have any 'beef' with you either. You would have avoided my scope of attention entirely had it not been for your unnecessary and off-topic comments.
- Don't pretend like I'm the aggressor here. I really hate when people start something and then tuck their tail between their legs. Thats even more agitating than just correcting oneself. rsfourever showed I needed correction, and though I feel what I said was true, he pointed out that he was being sarcastic. And embarrasingly, I admit it was unnecessary.
- You're the one who literally made an entire second post rhetorically asking a question as if you knew me and what I was thinking.
- All I know of you is what you posted here. There are posts later on here that outright say 'dumb move by BMW'. And you targeted mine. Twice. If my first post offended you, I'm sorry but this didn't become personal until you got defensive about BMWs heritage.
- I am curious how I 'hide' my posts. You seem to know me so well and all, I'd just like to hear what your advice on post etiquette and how yours is so much better.
- On any other forum if you make a true post, I'll likely agree to it and give props. This conversation never had to take place. I hope you realize that.
Moving on... now.
Fd3rsrz 9:03AM (8/27/2008)
They green light the X5 M and X6 M but they kill the M3 CSL?!?!?!?!
What have we done to deserve this, BMW?
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Blake 9:23AM (8/27/2008)
My thoughts exactly, mate.
Red 9:38AM (8/27/2008)
Sadly, I agree with you. It appears, however, they've shot themselves in the foot building SU...I mean SAVs trying to appeal to the US market in particular. What nobody counted on was the gas prices affecting those sales as soon as they did. Everybody from Toyota to Land Rover was building and/or selling SUVs here to get a quick dollar. On the surface, it seems there's less business sense in a hi-po X5 or X6, and I imagine an M-tuned X3 and upcoming X1 eventually, than the CSL. But I'm not sure very many people would spend another $10,000-15,000 on a fairly stripped out hardcore model of a vehicle with a base price of just $60-66K. I use the Integra Type-R as the perfect example. Even that car was a bit ahead of its time, but people back in the mid-90s were willing to pay a little more money for a hardcore model, but price was a concern. The most common complaint was always "for that price, I could get a more powerful _(fill in random vehicle_ with more comfort and interior features like _(fill in random features)_ ..." I think it would be even harder to justify that type of car for less than $100,000 even if you only sold 1,400. I'm not sure people are willing to pay for less, especially with so many different manufacturers offering options with "more". More weight, more safety, more luxury, more sport...just "more".
Fd3rsrz 11:22AM (8/27/2008)
I truly believe there was a market for a CSL.....look at how well the last one was received. No one ever expected the CSL to be a mass produced model so to say the wasn't demand for a limited run is a bit of a cop-out.
Plus, look at all of the other "stripped" models out there that charge more for less.....(GT3RS anyone?)
that being said, I can't afford a M3 let alone a CSL but it was still nice to know that BMW had the enthusiast in mind/gave us poor saps something to pine for when they came out with an amazing, limited-edition car. I always viewed BMW as the car for the enthusiast driver but after all of the recent news, I'm starting to wonder what they are thinking.
Red 11:42AM (8/27/2008)
@Fd3rsrz ,
What you said about the GT3RS was my point about charging anything less than $100,000 for any manufacturer's "stripped out" racer model. I can't think of anything like that less than $100K that anybody would actually really want to purchase. The Nissan GT-R goes for slightly more than the M3, but the Spec-V (or V-Spec) is rumored to go for more than $120,000 and the Viper ACR goes for $98,000, but still...it's a Viper and not a specialized BMW model. The GT3 RS you mentioned starts at $124,000, so I guess I can see where BMW is coming from, especially if they just nixed plans for the M1 Hommage to go into any sort of production.
g 9:03AM (8/27/2008)
"Hey, BMW, that M1 Homage/Design Study looked interesting in a good way, with a couple of tweaks here and there that thing could be awesome."
"We are not going to build it we're more interested in greener cars."
"Oh wow, I guess that's cool."
"Yes, like M tuned 500hp SU, excuse me, SAVs."
"What the....."
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BigMcLargeHuge 9:08AM (8/27/2008)
Although if they do a mid-life engine swap on the M3 for the twin-turbo V8, maybe they won't need the CSL as far as performance goes.
But thats a stretch.
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bob 9:10AM (8/27/2008)
lame-ass decision.
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