1973 BMW 3.0 CSL directly from Jay Kay

• Owned by rock legend Jay Kay of Jamiroquai for the last 13 years
• UK-supplied in right hand drive and matching numbers
• A rare and highly collectable car. One of the best driving examples we have seen
• Excellent history and provenance

These rare cars are highly sought-after worldwide and this low-ownership example is a UK, right-hand drive example - number 400 of just 500 right-hand drive UK cars produced. Visually indistinguishable from its more 'run of the mill’ relations - the CS and CSi - the 3.0CSL (Coupé Sport Leicht) was a creative homologation special at its very best.

Success in motorsport sells cars, and the marketing department's requirements led BMW engineers to develop a limited-production 'homologation special' to meet the constrictive framework of the ‘Group 2’ racing class regulations at the time. By removing the trim and using thinner steel for the main bodyshell, aluminium alloy for the doors, bonnet and boot lid, and Perspex for the side windows, a valuable 300lbs (136kg) in weight was saved – 'Leicht' indeed.

Mechanically, these cars were almost identical to the fuel-injected CSi (which meant 200bhp and 140mph plus) but to take it into the over-3-litre class, the engines were bored out slightly to 3003cc. Equipped with all-round independent suspension (McPherson strut front/semi-trailing arm rear), disc brakes and responsive steering, it was wonderfully balanced. Very expensive when new (several hundred pounds more than a 2.7 RS 911) CSLs are now the most highly coveted BMWs of the 1970s with a fabulous competition record. We understand that only1,039 CSLs were built in total with 500 of these in right hand drive for the UK market

Pop legend, Jay Kay, acquired this car in 2008 and was the 6th owner from new. Already restored once, the car had changed from it’s original colour of yellow to the smart and more traditional BMW colour of “Diamond Schwartz” during the ownership of a Mr Cardelli from Cardiff who had acquired the car at a classic car auction in 1984. He sold the car on to a Mr Peter Walsh who ran it and presented it at various BMW Car Club Concours events prior to it being sold through Munich Legends to our vendor.

The restoration works carried out by Mr Cardelli, fully detailed in the history file, include taking the bodywork back to bare metal and a complete engine rebuild with high compression Mahle pistons and the fitting of a Schrick cam and timing chain. New Bilstein springs and dampers were added at the time as were the Alpina alloy wheels, still present today, which are now virtually unobtainable. This process took four years to complete and was carried out by B.T. Cook of Weston-Super-Mare.

The second restoration of the car was carried out by Jay in 2010 at Munich Legends which also involved a bare metal repaint costing £7,000 at the time (changing the colour to BMW Polaris Silver as it is today) and a full mechanical rebuild of the car costing £20,650 just for the labour and a further £8,232 in parts fitted during the process. All of this is fully detailed in the car's two very thorough and comprehensive history files.

More recently, the BMW has sat in Jay’s amazing car collection and only lightly used. It's one of his favourite cars to drive and is always keen to keep it on its toes so consequently £940 was spent in October 2020 with Classic Heroes on a new fuel pump, relay and filter and a further £1,295 on a full service with replacement brake fluid in December 2020. The car has a new MOT, valid until 28-01-2022, and is ready now for a new owner to enjoy the Spring weather as we emerge out of lock-down and can return to enjoying classic motoring once more.