Jeremy Clarkson Sets His Sights On Legendary BMW: “Want!”

Jeremy Clarkson’s latest Instagram post is a picture of a ‘Legendary BMW’ car from a car auction event that he and most petrolheads would want quite badly. Setting his sights on it, the Grand Tour presenter expressed his desire to own one of BMW’s most iconic cars by tagging @silverstonefestival in the post followed by the word “want.”

The car in question is a silver BMW 3.0 CSL that BMW built as a Homologation special in the 70s to compete in the European Touring Car Championship. The CSL badge has an actual relevance that separates it from the other 3.0 models. It came with a bonnet, boot lid, and doors made from aluminum while the side-window glass was made from perspex. The car also featured slimmer steel panels for more weight shedding.

The 1972 model came with a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine before it was upgraded to a 3.2-liter engine in 1973 that produced 203 HP and 286 Nm of torque. Only 1265 units of the 3.0 CSL were made, out of which around 500 were bought in the UK, thus making it a very special car. Ironically, Clarkson’s desire to own one arises from his regret of selling it in the first place.

In a video that DriveTribe posted two years ago of a Q&A session with Clarkson, he revealed that the BMW 3.0 CSL was the car he regretted most for selling. We can analyze two reasons for his regret. One- this is an extremely rare and iconic car that no petrolhead in his right mind would want to sell. Secondly, Clarkson sold this car for just £3,000 whereas its value today would’ve fetched him upwards of £100,000!

Calling himself an idiot, he revealed:

“I sold a BMW three-liter CSL for… I don’t know, next to nothing.

“I think three thousand pounds and that was idiotic! Absolutely idiotic!”

Watch from 1:23

Fans were quick enough to respond to his Instagram post, with many knowing Clarkson’s history with the car.

This one’s loaded with Sarcasm:

“Well you’re known for buying and selling these at the right time.”

Familiar story?

“One of my greatest regrets. There was a garage near my parents in Suffolk in the early 80’s that had a BMW 2002 Tii for £1000 and a 3.0 CSL for £3000. Or was it £300 and £900? I can’t remember!”

A good idea:

“Buy it for Clarksons farms and claim it as a business expense.”

The ‘An’ comment:

“An driving machine”

Petrol head:

“As you should. Proper petrolhead reaction there.”