BMW CSL

By H.A. Branham

Significance. That’s your keyword, when talking about the BMW CSL from IMSA’s early days, one of three cars to be inducted into the IMSA Hall of Fame in 2025.

The CSL first raced in IMSA in 1974, with privateer successes that year laying the groundwork for a near-decade-long run of success starting the following year in 1975.

The original CSL was built for the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC). But more prominently, it was the first car fielded by BMW Motorsport GmbH – today’s M division known in racing now as BMW M Motorsport. Out of the box, CSL won the ETCC championship in ’73 – and into the spotlight. BMW wanted more.

In 1974, George Follmer, Brett Lunger and rally driver John Buffum were among the luminaries who delivered the first batch of IMSA success for the BMW CSL. In a Hurtig Team Libra-entered CSL, Lunger and Andy Petery finished fourth in GTO at the six-hour race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, delivering a near podium debut. Two further fourth-place finishes followed. The first came at the five-hour event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a pair of Libra CSLs finished fourth and fifth with Follmer, Lunger, Buffum and Petery split between the two cars. Another came at the 1000-kilometer race in Mexico City that fall, with Follmer, Daniel Muniz and R. Gama aboard.

Those early-year successes paved the way for the BMW CSL to make a bigger IMSA impact; one where its future driver lineups became renowned. Team principal Jochen Neerpasch faced the challenge of running a new team in a new series head-on, as recruiter extraordinaire. He landed some major names.

Hans Stuck, Brian Redman, Sam Posey and Allen Moffatt drove a CSL to victory in the 1975 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring; and that set in motion a series of four further victories that followed at more iconic racetracks.

It included Stuck at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Stuck and Dieter Quester at Riverside International Raceway, Stuck at the Paul Revere 250 at Daytona International Speedway and Stuck once more at Talladega Superspeedway. The BMW CSL won the TO championship in 1975, and again in 1976.

Beyond the wins, highlights for the 1975 factory-backed highlights for the CSL in the IMSA GTO class were numerous:

·       Six second-place finishes

·       Six new single-lap IMSA track records

·       The “win on Sunday” effect – BMW set a new U.S. sales record

This was huge. IMSA represented uncharted territory, as Neerpasch recalls.

“It was a real challenge as BMW of North America didn’t even exist at the time,” he said earlier this year at a 50-year Sebring victory reunion with Redman, covered brilliantly by the BMW M Magazine.

“Support was minimal. We had to share the same apartment with our 11 mechanics and one engineer. Sometimes, even the race car drivers had to get behind the wheel of the trucks or motorhomes, because there weren’t enough hands to go around. It was an adventure. Also, we never quite knew what to expect at the next race because we didn’t know the tracks. It was a fantastic time.”

The BMW CSL added its first IMSA 24-hour race triumph when Redman, Peter Gregg and John Fitzpatrick drove to Victory Lane at the 1976 Rolex 24 At Daytona – a milestone that will celebrate its 50-year anniversary in 2026.

The rest of the 1970s continued to bear great fruit for the BMW CSL as it expanded its lifespan within the paddock. Most notably, Peter Gregg added another 1976 win at Talladega, en route to finishing second in the championship that season.

A classic design and paint scheme led to it being nicknamed the Batmobile, back when that meant something in popular culture. Aerodynamics were the reason for the nickname; a large air dam, short fins along the front fenders, a spoiler above and behind the roof, and a tall rear wing. Come to think of it, the only thing missing was Adam West. It was just a cool looking car – then and now.

As far as its multi-layered significance, appearance was just a start.

“One thing is that it was the first real car that came to IMSA from Europe as a factory program,” said IMSA’s Senior Director of Race Operations, Mark Raffauf. “Older CSLs had been sold to drivers for 1974 but in ‘75 the factory came with Redman, Stock, Sam Posey … they won at Sebring the second time out. You had a BMW factory team being run by former F1 drivers ... first class all the way.”

Eventually, BMW’s progression of racing vehicles led to the 320i and into the 1980s, the M1. But had it not been for the BMW CSL success in the mid-1970s, there’s no telling where the manufacturer would be now.

The BMW CSL delivered fantastic memories, and significant ones.