BMW (for no readily apparent reason) recently invited me to a CSL test day, where they let a group of about 20 of us drive brand new CSLs back to back against brand new M3s. Hell, we were thrashing the poor little non-run-in things around Rockingham's national circuit non-stop - someone even put one in a gravel trap.

Then, they fed us and let us go home. Why? Well, looking at the list they gave us, they have about 160 used examples in their UK dealer network - obviously they got every dealer to register at least one. Only 422 UK-spec ones were ever made. Doesn't look like they're selling well (could be the £20k premium over the standard M3, maybe?)

The the day most bought home is how pissed off I'd have been if I owned an M3. The CSL is really night & day over the stock M3, even the sequential shift code is tweaked and it really bangs through the gears (and blips the throttle on downshifts which makes you sound really professional). Both the M3 and the CSL feel heavy as track cars though.

Hugo