1972 BMW 3.0CSL' Batmobile'

The famous BMW 3.0CSL Batmobile was made available for sale in BMW showrooms during May 1972. in order to homologate the race car and enable it to compete in the European Touring Car Championship. Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car championship of 1973, and also won the class at Le Mans driving with Dieter Quester, and the Batmobile went to win the ETC series every year between 1975 and 1979. It looked spectacular with the combination of a huge front air dam and a massive rear wing on the boot. The name "Batmobile" summed up the dramatic appearance of the legendary racer which featured on many schoolboys bedroom walls as an iconic racer of the era.

This particular car was converted from a 3.0CS road car in the late 1980s by saloon racer, the late Tim Busby, and has accumulated many excellent race results over the ensuing 30 years on race tracks all over the world. In 2004 it was sold to Silverstone Auctions owner, Nick Whale, and co-owned by Nick's best mate Ian Guest. The pair campaigned the car in Patrick Peter's Classic Endurance Racing series "CER," throughout Europe, including twice at Classic Le Mans in 2004 and 2006 where it won its 'Plateau' on both occasions. It also won the coveted Index of Performance award at the 2006 Classic Le Mans, as well as further class wins at Monza, Silverstone, and Spa.

It was then sold to Alan Tice who successfully campaigned the car for two or three seasons in the Masters series, before changing hands again in 2013 to our vendor who is a well-known collector of classic cars but not a racer. During his ownership he had the engine rebuilt by noted engine specialist Lester Owen in 2014 at a cost of £6,800, and also had the bodywork modified to Group IV type arches and a full repaint. Since then the car has been to one track day where it covered just a handful of laps at Silverstone. The dyno sheet confirms 379bhp on tap and 306 lbs/ft torque available when Lester had finished the engine rebuild late in 2014. The original, and very rare, Kugelfischer slide fuel injection is still fitted and the car is ready to be enjoyed once again, although it will need fresh race preparation as it has had so little use over the last 3 years.

A spares package come with this Lot which includes a total of 8 spare wheels, various brake pads, drive shaft components, wheel bearings, various suspension parts and front centre lock hubs. The FIA papers are now expired and the seat and belts should be changed before competitive use. However, it is an exciting package that hopefully will once again thrill the crowds as an all time classic touring car legend.