Drive: Classic BMWs

Clack open the heavy door and breathe in the scent of an era bygone. Slide into the deep bucket seats and hear the jangle of the bare metal keys as you hunt for the ignition slot. The driving position is perfect, the view out is panoramic and the drilled, three-spoke steering wheel’s airbag-less, button-free face is refreshingly simple. Twist the key, and the 3,153cc six – in-line of course – despite being nearly 40 years old, starts readily and settles into a throaty idle. Clutch in, slot into first on the positive, light action gearshift, and ease off the clutch as you feed in some throttle. The Bosch D-Jetronic analogue fuel injection system is in a good mood, so the car moves off the line with satisfying pep. Today, I’m pointing this shark nose in the direction of some of Italy’s most sinuous roads.

Now, I’ve been lucky to drive some pretty exotic machinery, but this one here is extra special. It’s the road-going BMW 3.0 CSL, a car born out of homologation necessity to allow BMW’s E9 generation to take part in the European Touring Car Championship in the early 1970s. The CSL (L for lightweight) weighed about 200kg less than the road-going 3.0 CSi it was based on, which meant a kerb weight in the region of 1,200kg. The body of the CSL was made from thinner-gauge steel, the doors, bonnet and boot lid were aluminium and all sound proofing was ditched, and this helped its 203bhp, 29.1kgm engine power it to 100kph in 7.3sec and get it to a 230kph top speed.

Today, those figures may not seem special, but that engine certainly is. Throttle response is amazingly crisp and it is punchy and ever willing to rev. The urge starts at 2,000rpm, throaty induction noises join the party at around 3000rpm, it reaches peak torque at 4,200rpm and then makes a lunge for peak power at 5600rpm. Time to grab the next gear on the four-speed manual. The long-throw gearshift action is in complete contrast to today’s short-throw gearboxes, but that only means it is more involving to drive. The joy comes from matching the revs on downshifts, timing the upshifts and heel-and-toe-ing – and you know you’ve got it right by the noises that come from the exhaust.

The road to Lake Garda is quite twisty, and the CSL’s relatively slow steering leads me to believe it’s going to be a handful by modern car standards. Nothing of the sort. The steering rack’s accuracy allows apex-clipping precision that points directly to why modern BMWs are still so good to drive – it’s the lessons BMW learnt ages ago. There are no rattles or creaks from the body and you drive with the information available through your hands, bottom and feet. Push it into a corner hard and the skinny Michelin XWX tyres squirm, but there’s little body roll and the chassis hangs on gamely. It really is a revelation to drive something that’s almost 40 years old and see how contemporary it still is. No wonder then that race-prepped 3.0 CSLs won the European Touring Car Championship every year from 1975-79 and before that, the 1973 German Touring Car Championship. Chris Amon and Hans Stuck must have had the time of their lives winning from behind the wheel of this sublime racer.