Another "low". Jay Kay's BMW 3.0 CSL goes up for auction

Jay Kay's automobile collection, well-known singer of Jamiroquai, will suffer a new “download”. After the singer decided to auction off his green Ferrari LaFerrari, a BMW 1M Coupé and a McLaren 675 LT, he has now decided to bid farewell to his BMW 3.0 CSL (E9) of 1973.

This is an iconic model of the Bavarian brand and was built in order for the German manufacturer to fulfill the homologation requirements for the European Touring Car Championship. In total, only 1039 copies will have been produced, 500 of which for the UK, with the right-hand drive wheel: Jay Kay's car is number 400.

Visually very similar to the CS and CSi versions, much more common, the 3.0 CSL (Sport Leicht Coupé) was an homologation special that used thinner steel for the bodywork, aluminum alloy in the doors, hood and trunk lid, and Perspex acrylic in the rear windows. All of this allowed for a weight saving of 126 kg, living up to the “Leicht” or lightweight designation.

As far as the mechanics are concerned, there were many similarities with the CSi models. However, to position it in the “over 3.0 liter” category, BMW engineers raised the in-line six-cylinder (naturally aspirated) engine capacity of the 3.0 CSL to 3003 cm3, while producing 203 hp and 286 Nm of torque maximum.

Coupled to this engine was a five-speed manual transmission that allowed it to exceed 225 km/h of maximum speed.

The models approved in July 1973 saw the six-cylinder engine receive modifications and “grow” to 3.2 liters of capacity. The highlight, however, was an aerodynamic pack that had eye-catching appendages such as the huge rear wing that would later earn this model the Batmobile moniker.

Jay Kay purchased this BMW in 2008 and was its 6th owner. At that time, after having been restored, this 3.0 CSL had abandoned the yellow paint it left the factory with, now showing a shade of gray also recognized by the Munich brand, called Diamond Schwartz.

The second restoration was already done on the orders of Jay Kay, in 2010, at Munich Legends (BMW specialist in Sussex, UK), and involved a new paint job costing £7000 (about 8164 euros), changing the color to Polaris Silver, as it is today.

At that time, the pop singer also asked for a complete mechanical rebuild which, according to Silverstone Auctions, would have cost more than 20,000 pounds (23 326 euros) in labour. All these interventions are documented.

The auctioneer responsible for the sale does not announce the kilometers that this BWM 3.0 CSL adds to the odometer, but claims that this is one of Jay Kay's cars of choice and that it has a valid inspection in the United Kingdom until the 28th of January 2022.

The auction of this “bimmer” is scheduled for next Saturday, March 27, at 10:00 am. Silverstone Auctions estimates that the sale will be made for around 115 000 GBP, something like 134,000 euros.