1971 BMW 3.0 CSL Broadspeed Group 2 ‘Batmobile’ prototype (chassis 2211343)

BMW’s early-1970s touring-car fight against Ford Capri was not won on a boardroom whiteboard. The factory struck a deal with Broadspeed to develop the new 3.0 CS for Group 2, reportedly with a clause that the car had to lap faster than Capri by a hard percentage. Two prototype E9 shells went to the British team in September 1971. Public RM Sotheby’s catalogue materials are clear on the scarcity point that matters here: only one of those two cars — chassis 2211343 — was transformed into true CSL specification.

With Cooper Car Company input, Broadspeed stiffened the shell, fitted lighter aluminum doors, bonnet and boot lid, and gas-filled Bilstein dampers. Winter testing at Paul Ricard with John Fitzpatrick and Dieter Quester did not match Capri times, and the works relationship ended quickly. The project did not. Future three-time Formula 1 World Champion Niki Lauda tested the car at Silverstone; the July 1972 Motor Sport write-up is the public period note. Broadspeed then entered 2211343 in the April 1972 ETCC round at a snowy Salzburgring, where Fitzpatrick finished 3rd as the best-ranked BMW.

Back in Munich the development 3.5-litre race engine was removed and the ‘Batmobile’ body kit was fitted, painted in the BMW Motorsport stripe scheme. The catalogue states it is believed this car was the first finished in that famous livery — treat that as catalogue belief, not a factory one-of table. In June 1973 the CSL went to Vasek Polak in Hermosa Beach for BMW Service Advisor Bruce Ponder, who won at Riverside in 1974. Later custody includes Sweden (1999) with FIA papers and a 2002 Le Mans Classic appearance before the Germany-based consignor acquired it in 2008.

Score 85 — Rare-enough (Curator 2026-11-05). Path C: unique factory-commissioned Broadspeed Group 2 CSL prototype. Documentation and period race/test trail are strong; the removed development engine and “believed first” stripes wording are diligence haircuts (−1 vs CEO est 86), not kills. Estimate €380–480k, The Munich Auction, 20 November 2026.

Watcher’s checklist

1. Confirm chassis 2211343 against FIA / identity documents at inspection.
2. Separate Broadspeed CSL conversion history from later Batmobile-kit fitment and any modern historic-racing prep.
3. Note that the period development race engine was removed — do not invent a matching-numbers race-engine claim.
4. Treat “first Motorsport-stripes Batmobile” as catalogue belief until primary period photo/paint evidence is checked.
5. Outbound only to the RM Sotheby’s lot URL above — never mirror listing photography.
6. Rare Machines is editorial — we do not inspect, authenticate, or broker; confirm everything with the venue and your own diligence.