I’m sure this has crossed your mind before: “What if car maker X made car Y?” Whether it’s an all-new model, a crossover set of several pieces, or just a major modification to a beloved classic, these little things What if Great cars can be elevated to the level of legends in our minds.
For me, there is a constant stream of these types of ideas. What if GM built a body-on-frame midsize ZR2 SUV? What if Porsche built a factory 996 Turbo Dakar? What if Toyota had somehow Have you mustered the financial muscle to include a functional top-down camera in the 2024 4Runner? (Can’t understand it, I know)
from Grauslake channel on YouTubeLatest project, another question: What if BMW built an E36 M3 CSL?
I’ve thought this thought before. I owned many E36s when they were cheap commodities found mostly rotting in the less fashionable used car lots that lined Spokane’s side roads. It was inevitable that these cars of mine would have their suspensions stiffened, the engines beefed up, and most of the civility stripped from them for the sole purpose of turning an autocross course at about a quarter of a second (or, if you ask my wife, to bludgeon her thoracic spine) into fine powder).
But imagine if BMW did that from the factory?
Photo by: BMW
Of course in America we got the E36 Lightweight, a version of that idea, without the wonderful European engine that pumped out more than a significant amount of horsepower beyond the ‘LTW’. Nor did the American car boast the second-best noise in BMW history (I’m talking about the Euro E36 here, with its individual throttle bodies. First on the list: an E30 M3 with a carbon airbox).
And Europe got the E36 M3 GT king Glorious European engine, but it was simply cooler and more premium than the flagship car, and wasn’t explicitly intended for “lightweights”, as Porsche’s idiot calls it.
Photo by: BMW
Thank God that there is a YouTube channel that aims to answer this question. You can see some key aspects of the project from a previous episode here. In it, the GRAUSLICK team tackles the E36’s fuel system and dashboard, and headlines the interior’s purposeful, racetrack-focused look.
Or you can jump into the middle of the project like I did to see how their S54 engine is assembled and fitted into the car, as well as doing some 3D scanning to build lightweight interior panels. As in a real BMW CSL concept, this design will enable you to do without Decorations such as radios and full HVAC equipment.
As a lifelong E36 dirt fan, I’m watching this project with great interest. The raw, lightweight E36 M3s feel equivalent in character and ferocity to the Porsche 996 GT3s they now boast. With the power of the S54 added to this model – and coupled with some good performance features – the M3 should be very special indeed.