BMW CSL

In the early 70's, an epic battle between BMW and Ford Europe was on display in the ETCC. The most famous of these cars, is the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile" was brought out in 1973. Aptly nicknamed for its extensive set of wings and spoilers for aerodynamic reasons, the road going version of the CSL (Coupe Sport Leicht) came with 8 neat packages stored in the trunk with instructions for their owners on how to turn their own CSL into the racing "Batmobile." For the original works cars, BMW placed a 3.2 Litre In-line 6 the CSL which gave it 340 horses under the hood. Sporting what is now known as the classic M-color livery, the #87 Alpina team represents the original CSL. They were good handling cars that were easy to drive, with a hint of under steer on corner entry. As the competition in the ETCC heated up, both Ford Europe and BMW continued to upgrade their cars. To counter Ford, BMW upgraded the CSL with a larger engine. The red and white #870 Schnitzer car featured here sports a larger 3.5 Litre In-line 6 that produced close to 440bhp. Wider tyres were fitted to the car, both front and rear, which helped the car put down all that extra horsepower. With the extra horsepower also comes extra weight, so more attention needs to be paid under heavy braking with the Schnitzer car. But the car has good downforce, keeping it planted firmly. So throw the car sideways into corners, with a healthy does of throttle to sling it out of corners can be extremely fun. - Jerry Chen