Frequent visitors to Nurburgring and close friends of WorldCarFans, driving enthusiast club, Carfreaks.net of Finland, have snapped some photos of what appears to be an E92 M3 CSL (Coupe, Sport, Lightweight). Distinguished by a power to weight ratio improvement of 10%, the previous generation E46 CSL was slated as a purists' club-racer version of the standard M3 with many features intended to increase performance and reduce weight. Visually, it was differentiated by its' carbon fiber roof, front and rear bumper fascias with integrated carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFP) splitters, special 19-inch wheels and a decklid with integrated rear spoiler.
Since the new E92 M3 now incorporates the carbon-fiber roof as standard, there are still a few other subtle details which indicate this prototype is indeed the new CSL. The rear decklid has a built in “duck bill” spoiler, front bumper fascia has CFP side flaps, and the front fender “M3” grille nameplate is covered with black tape which suggest the CSL nameplate resides there instead, much like the E46 generation.
The E46 CSL was first unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor show in 2001, therefore it's easy to speculate (judging by the lack of camouflage) we could see this E92 CSL debuting at Frankfurt next week. Let's hope so!
More pictures of the M3 Sedan in action at the Carfreaks.net link below.
Thanks to MJN for use of the photos!
