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Jay Kay’s BMW 3.0 CSL Is For Sale

The BMW 3.0 CSL is one of the most important cars in the German automaker’s long history, this one is perhaps a little more special than most because it’s being offered for sale directly from the collection of Jay Kay, the famous front man of Jamiroquai and a car collector of some international repute.

The BMW 3.0 CSL

Originally released in May of 1972, the BMW 3.0 CSL was a homologation special developed to allow the car to be raced in the highly competitive European Touring Car Championship.

Just 1,265 would be built, with the “L” in the model name coming from the German word “leicht” (“light” in English), due to the fact the cars had been specially built to shave off any many kilograms of possible.

A large part of these weight savings came from the thinner gauge steel that was used in some sections of the car’s unibody. BMW engineers were careful to ensure rigidity wouldn’t be affected, they also stripped these cars of their soundproofing, the front bumper, and they used aluminium alloy for the doors, bonnet, and trunk lid.

Above Image: The handsome, shark-like looks of the CSL have won it many accolades over the years. The model was nicknamed the “Batmobile” shortly after its introduction.

The side windows were made from Perspex rather than glass, and a number of other trim items were deleted in the interests of saving weight. In total the 3.0 CSLs were approximately 300 lbs (136 kgs) lighter than when they started, a significant reduction that was taken to even further extremes with the race cars.

These cars initially used much the same basic engine as the 3.0 CS, however its displacement was increased to 3,003cc in order to allow it to compete in the over 3.0 litre class, for 1973 cars would see their engine capacity further increased up to 3,153cc.

In 3.2 litre road-going trim the CSL was capable of 203 hp at 5,600 rpm and 211 lb ft of torque at 4,200 rpm, these were impressive figures for the time and when coupled with the cars independent front and rear suspension, disc brakes on all four corners, and 5-speed transmission it meant the cars were excellent performers.

On track the CSLs performed better than even the most optimistic projections, winning the driver’s title in the European Touring Car Championship six times in 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979. It also won three rounds of the 1976 World Championship for Makes, it won its class at the 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans, it won some races in the IMSA GT Championship, and it took a slew of other wins and podiums in various racing series around the world.

Above Image: The interior of this car is much the same as the regular production 3.0 CS, as the British importer wanted the cars to keep their electric windows, soundproofing, and some other comfort items.

Interestingly the BMW M (Motorsport) division was founded in 1972 with just 35 staff specifically to develop this car, the 3.0 CSL. The wild success of the program and the positive press it brought to BMW helped to cement the M division into the DNA of BMW, and today almost 50 years later there’s a vast array of BMW M cars that all owe their existence to the CSL.

The surviving examples of the BMW 3.0 CSL are now highly sought after.

The BMW 3.0 CSL Shown Here

As mentioned above, this CSL is coming directly out of the ownership of Jay Kay, he had the car for 13 years and it became a bit of a personal favorite.

It obviously had a special place in his extensive collection as he had the car restored at Munich Legends in 2010 with the final cost of over £35,000 including £7,000 for a full respray to BMW Polaris Silver and £28,882 for a full mechanical rebuild.

The car is now being offered at the Race Retro Live Auction on the 27th of March with a price guide of £100,000 to £115,000, or $137,230 to $157,814 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions

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A Drivable 70% Scale Porsche 917 Go Kart – $20,500 to $27,400 USD

This is a 100% functional and drivable Porsche 917 at 70% scale. It’s designed to accommodate both adults and kids, which is why it has an open top with plenty of room for your head to protrude, and it’s capable of almost 30 mph (48 km/h).

The Porsche 917 is a vehicle that needs no introduction, it was one of the most dominant racing cars of its day taking a slew of wins in Can Am, the World Sportscar Championship, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The special long tail (“Langheck” in German) iteration of the car was capable of 225 mph (362 km/h) thanks to both the car’s advanced aerodynamics and its mighty mid-mounted flat-12 engine.

The car you see here was designed to be a scaled down version of the 917 that preserved the legendary styling of the original whilst offering it in a far more affordable (and child friendly) package at 70% scale.

Above Image: The rear-wheel drive car has a rear disc brake and a mid-mounted engine.

The baby Porsche 917 uses a steel backbone trellis frame, all of the various parts of the vehicle are bolted to this central frame, with a series of steel tubes supporting the elegant fiberglass body that was modeled on the iconic 917 “Kurzheck” Porsche.

The car has rack-and-pinion steering, front spring suspension, and hydraulic brakes – it can accommodate either adults or children by removing the fiberglass seat to make more space.

Power is provided by a (mid-mounted of course) 9 bhp 230cc engine which feeds power through a 2-1 reduction gearbox with a wet clutch to the rear wheels. It rides on 10 inch wheels with pneumatic tires, it also has a quick-release steering wheel, working headlights, and am overhead rear cooling fan – just like the full-scale car.

It’s due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s later in March with no reserve. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

The post A Drivable 70% Scale Porsche 917 Go Kart – $20,500 to $27,400 USD appeared first on Silodrome.

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Amazing Steampunk Spider Sculptures Crafted Using Vintage Watches, Medical Equipment, and Cameras

For more than 25 years, Peter Szucsy, Hungarian illustrator and designer, dedicated his career to creating sinister beasts for video games. As a highly-skilled art director and artist, he created several bizarre monsters that run rampant through the virtual world of video games. When he felt it was time to try something different, he came up with the amazing steampunk spider sculptures.

Crafted from different parts of vintage watches, medical equipment, and cameras, the Steampunk Spider Sculpture remains an amazing piece of artwork. Rather than working with vector graphics and pixels, Szucsy made this masterpiece a reality by making use of various pieces gotten from antique watches as well as other vintage objects.

“Crafted from different parts of vintage watches, medical equipment, and cameras”

While trying to fabricate the intricate steampunk spider sculptures, Szucsy would visit a flea market near his home in search of antiques and material, including rare, expensive, vintage timepieces. However, he made sure he didn’t have to dismantle any time that will be valued by an institution or museum.

Amazing Steampunk Spider by Peter Szucsy

Amazing Steampunk Sculpture by Peter Szucsy

In an interview with Peter Szucsy, he said, “I have been working as a video game artist and art director for many years. I made many monsters and creatures in the virtual world. But a few years ago, I felt it was about time that I created something different and unique. I’ve been planning to make such a spider in the real world, and now, it has come true.”

“I’ve been planning to make such a spider in the real world, and now, it has come true”

This masterpiece from Peter Szucsy only continues his love for creative artwork both in the virtual and real world. Even though it wasn’t easy collecting every necessary part required to craft the intricate creatures, to match in material, style, and color. However, Szucsy was determined to make this a reality.

Hanging this amazing steampunk spider sculpture on the wall offers a unique view of a spider climbing the wall and about to get its prey. Absolutely fantastic. As time goes by, we should expect more fine steampunk sculptures from Peter Szucsy. As someone who now enjoys handmade creations, we can expect him to surpass our expectations with his next vintage piece.

Peter Szucsy is a member of our group on Facebook

Peter Szycsy : Website | Instagram | Facebook

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Ferves Ranger – The Cutest Off-Roader Ever Designed

This is the Ferves Ranger, and there can be little doubt that it’s the cutest little off-roader ever built. It was designed by Carlo Ferrari as a lightweight and affordable “mini Jeep” that would be perfect for use on farms and vineyards, as well as on Italy’s tight twisting streets and alleyways.

Famed industrial designer Philippe Starck owned a green Ferves Ranger for many years, there were a number of others sold to estate owners in Italy and around Europe, and a small number made it across the pond into private ownership in the United States.

The Ferves Ranger

Carlo Ferrari named his budding young company Ferves, a portmanteau of “FERrari VEicoli Speciali” (Ferrari Special Vehicles), it obviously wasn’t possible for him to use his own surname to name the company, as this had already been done by an enterprising man named Enzo a few years earlier.

The design of the Ranger was deliberately simple, it uses a simple steel and riveted aluminum chassis/body and many parts from both the Fiat 500 and the Fiat 600D. This made sourcing spares easy, and it was similarly straightforward to find mechanics who could work on them.

Above Image: The Ranger can seat four, it has a folding top for inclement weather and the windshield can be folded down when desired.

Power was provided by a rear-mounted Fiat 500 engine, and the all-independent suspension comes from the Fiat 600D. When ordering your new Ranger you could choose either four-wheel drive or two-wheel drive, and there were a number of color options.

A folding black vinyl soft top was provided, and inside the car you’ll find (cosy) seating for four adults. The driver is faced with all the gauges he or she needs, three pedals, a steering wheel, a manual shifter and not much else.

The windscreen can fold down flat, just like the Willys Jeep from WW2, and a spare tire is fixed to the top off the engine bay lid in the rear. Due to the exceedingly low curb weight of the Ferves Ranger it rarely needed any help when bogged, occupants could generally just get out and manually push it back onto firm ground.

The 18 bhp Fiat 500 engine is a 499cc air-cooled two-cylinder unit, although not powerful by any measure it was more than enough to get the Ranger moving. Power was fed through either a 4-speed (on the earlier models) or a 5-speed manual transmission, and later models could also be ordered with locking differentials.

Above Image: The All 600 examples of the Ranger were left-hand drive and came with manual transmissions mated to Fiat 500 engines.

Sadly many of the original Rangers that were build have succumbed to rust or neglect over the years, just 600 were built and it’s not known how many have survived to the modern day.

The unusual nature of them combined with the interesting history has seen them become a hit with collectors, and there’s always plenty of interest when one comes up for sale.

The 1968 Ferves Ranger Shown Here

The Ferves Ranger you see here is a beautifully presented two-wheel drive example, it’s in remarkably original condition throughout sporting bright canary yellow paint work, black upholstery, and a black folding top.

If you’d like to see more or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing, it’s due to roll across the auction block on the 22nd of May at the Amelia Island auction.

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The Isdera Imperator 108i – A Rare Supercar That Almost Never Existed

The Isdera Imperator 108i was a supercar born from the stubborn refusal of its designer to let it die as “just” a concept car – it was originally designed by Eberhard Schulz as the Mercedes-Benz CW311 concept car in 1978.

Mercedes had opted not to put it into production, but they didn’t stand in Schulz’s way when he set out to create his own production model of the car under the the marque “Isdera” that he founded in 1982. The company’s unusual name is a portmanteau of “Ingenieurbüro für Styling, Design und Racing,” or in English, “Engineering Company for Styling, Design and Racing.”

Eberhard Schulz had a fascinating career, he studied mechanical engineering but dropped out before graduating to built his own super car – the Erator GT with 400 hp and a top speed of over 300 km/h.

He drove this car to both Mercedes and Porsche to apply for a job, he landed a job with Porsche in 1971 but maintained contact with Mercedes over the years. The cars built by Schulz would typically be powered by Mercedes engines but would use many Porsche parts including interior elements sourced from cars like the Porsche 928.

Above Image: The Imperator 108i has gullwing doors inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

There can be little argument that the Isdera Imperator 108i was one of the most beautiful mid-engined supercars of its era. It was typically compared with cars like the Lamborghini Countach, the Ferrari F40, the Porsche 959, and later with cars like the Jaguar XJ220.

Schulz designed the Imperator 108i with a tubular steel spaceframe chassis onto which a bonded fiberglass body would be fitted. Front suspension consists of double wishbones and coil springs over tubular shock absorbers with an anti-roll bar, and in the rear you’ll find upper and lower transverse links, coil springs over tubular shock absorbers, and an anti-roll bar.

The car has power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering and ventilated disc brakes on all four corners which helped bring the car’s relatively low weight of 1,250 kgs or 2,756 lbs to a stop when required.

The mid-mounted engine used in the Imperator 108i changed over the course of the vehicle’s production run. Initially the car was fitted with a 5.0 litre M117 Mercedes-Benz V8 producing 296 bhp and 336 lb ft of torque.

Over time Mercedes developed more advanced and subsequently more powerful engines which were used including a 5.6 litre version of the M117, an AMG 5.6 litre V8, and finally a 6.0 litre AMG V8 with 32 valves capable of 390 bhp.

Above Image: The interior offers comfortable seating for two with the driver encapsulated by a wrap around dashboard like a fighter jet.

Power was sent to the rear wheels via a reliable 5-speed ZF manual transmission. Power output and performance specifications changed over time, the initial cars were capable of 283 km/h (176 mph) and a 0 to 60 mph time of 5.0 seconds, with later cars besting these figures significantly.

Isdera would keep the Imperator 108i in production from 1982 until 1993 when it was replaced with the Commendatore 112i, an advanced modern supercar that had a claimed top speed of 370 km/h (230 mph) recorded during testing.

Amazingly Isdera is still in business today, apparently the only way to order a car is to personally call the CEO and ask for one, an unusually personal touch befitting a company that only makes a handful of cars every few years and always to order.

The 1991 Isdera Imperator 108i you see here is due to roll across the auction block with Bonhams at the Monaco Sale ‘Les Grandes Marques à Monaco’ with an estimated hammer price of €500,000 to €700,000 or approximately $590,000 to $830,000 USD.

If you’d like to see more or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Bonhams

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Watch The 1969 East African Safari Rally

The East African Safari Rally was run from 1953 until 2019 under a variety of names, interestingly for the first 19 years of the event it was always won by local African-born drivers – all from either Kenya or Tanzania.

Many have tried to explain this phenomena but it perhaps most likely came down to their familiarity with the local roads and terrain. The first non-African to win it was Hannu Mikkola in 1972 with Gunnar Palm performing co-driver duties in their Ford Escort RS1600.

The most successful driver in the history of the East African Safari Rally is Kenyan driver Shekhar Mehta, who won the event outright five times over ten years in 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982 driving three different cars over the years with two different co-drivers.

It’s likely that the East African Safari Rally provided some inspiration for other off-road endurance events like the Paris Dakar Rally. For the first year the race was known as the East African Coronation Safari, from 1960 it was known as the East African Safari Rally until 1974 when it became the Safari Rally.

The race first became an official World Rally Championship event in 1973 and it would remain on the WRC calendar almost every year until the current day, the event is next due to take place later in 2021.

Famous winners of the race over the years have included Colin McRae, Tommi Mäkinen, Richard Burns, Carlos Sainz, Björn Waldegård, Hannu Mikkola, Ari Vatanen, and of course, Shekhar Mehta.

If you’d like to read more about the new version of the East African Safari Rally that uses all vintage cars you can click here to visit the official website.