A Minty Fresh Take on an Old Classic

Ed
By Ed Higginbotham
Nov 3, 2017 | BMW | Posted in Features | Never miss an article

What do you do when you can’t lay your hands on a rare BMW 3.0 CSL Batmobile? You make your own. And how do you start such a project? Your friend comes to your house with a rusty 3.0 CS street car asking if you know anyone who wants it–you know, because there’s no more room in the garage.

Such was the case with Willy Izaguirre’s creation. His friend’s words of advice? “Don’t drive this thing over 50 mph.” The car was so decrepit that he could put both of his feet through the floor. There was a noticeable drop in the seat when he sat in it. And when he put the car up on jack stands, the tub flexed so much that the doors couldn’t close.

But if there’s one thing we learned about Willy: Bad ideas don’t phase him. Don’t get us wrong, we appreciate that. We’re talking about a guy who drove from New York to Florida in an SR20DET-powered Datsun roadster with no hood, just a windshield, and a tent frame sticking out the back—in December. His solution: layers.

Armed with a welder and lots of sheet metal, he eradicated all of the rust and rot that had plagued the BMW. He also added new braces to make sure the car was rigid. Then he set to work on his vision for the car: forming it into a restomod version of the BMW factory’s famed Batmobile race cars.

That bodywork looks like it could be one of the original kits campaigned by BMW on track, but Willy and his friends actually made it all by hand out of fiberglass.

The car came with an upgraded engine already swapped in place of the original. Even so, Willy described the output as, well, disappointing. After all, he was accustomed to that turbocharged Datsun.

His solution still hailed from BMW. He chose to bring the car up to date with the drivetrain from a 1998 M3–one that he knew could handle added power. Boost would come from a Precision turbo. He plans to make over 500 horsepower on this setup.

The BMW sits on period-correct, 17-inch, magnesium-centered BBS wheels: 9.5 inches wide in the front and 15.5 inches wide in the rear.

He chose to mount the radiator in the rear of the car, well, “to mess with people.” He says that he likes to take it to shows and see how long it takes people to realize there isn’t a cooling system immediately visible.

We’re not the only ones who were struck by this creation. It won a GT Academy award for Best European Import at the 2017 SEMA Show.

What’s next for this Bavarian restomod? Well, it’ll leave the SEMA Show and go straight to VAC Motorsports for final tuning-this project is not yet complete. Then it’ll probably get upgraded brakes and maybe a roll cage. Then Willy shrugs his shoulders and says he’ll just drive it. Maybe we’ll see a minty green 3.0 CSL from New York passing through Florida in a couple months.

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Comments
NEALSMO
NEALSMO UberDork
11/3/17 5:35 p.m.
 

Ahhh man.  My GIF link no workysad

 

Oh well.  What I meant to say was Dayuum!

noddaz
noddaz GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/4/17 7:01 p.m.

Very nice...  Very very nice...

conesare2seconds
conesare2seconds Dork
11/4/17 8:07 p.m.

The color is strikingly attractive. Kind of an unexpected choice, it works well here. Of course, the CS is such a beautiful shape it would still look passably good in flat brown. wink

thestig99
thestig99 HalfDork
11/5/17 8:23 a.m.

That color is spectacular surprise

stuart in mn
stuart in mn UltimaDork
11/5/17 8:46 a.m.

Love it.

759NRNG
759NRNG Dork
11/5/17 1:38 p.m.

Absolutely berkin' awesome

Jhonsbro
Jhonsbro
8/22/19 7:32 a.m.

It really cool color as BMW looks fantastic 

Duke
Duke MegaDork
8/22/19 9:10 a.m.
conesare2seconds said:

The color is strikingly attractive. Kind of an unexpected choice, it works well here.

That's very close to the color I've always planned to paint the Manic Miata, if I ever do - something like MINI's Robin's Egg Blue.

 

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