BMW M2 Gets A Dramatic 3.0 CSL Makeover

Riverti Automobili reshapes the G87 BMW M2 with 3.0 CSL-inspired bodywork, while key specs like power and production remain under wraps.

BMW M2 3.0 CSL retromod by Riverti Automobili

Photo by: Riverti Automobili

Brian Potter

By: Brian Potter

Sep 28, at 7:32am ET

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Riverti ran a heavily camouflaged prototype at Italy's Tutto Bene Hillclimb.
Riverti positions the project as a full rebody rather than a simple styling package.
The prototype reportedly keeps the M2's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six.

Riverti Automobili has taken its BMW M2-based 3.0 CSL tribute out of the studio and onto a hillclimb stage. The heavily camouflaged prototype ran at an Italian hillclimb event, giving the public its first real look at a car that until recently existed only as teaser sketches.

The bodywork borrows heavily from the 1970s "Batmobile" 3.0 CSL, with four round headlights and a shrunken kidney grille replacing the M2's usual face. Riverti has shown design sketches, photos, and broad positioning for the car, but power, weight, transmission, and price specifications remain undisclosed.

Gallery: BMW M2 3.0 CSL retromod by Riverti Automobili

BMW M2 3.0 CSL retromod by Riverti Automobili

Source: Riverti Automobili

What Has Been Revealed

Riverti built its camouflaged prototype on the current G87 BMW M2, a car that already draws plenty of attention in stock form. The coachbuilder is teasing a full rebody rather than a simple styling package, with cues drawn from the CSL's motorsport heritage and the BMW 2002 Turbo.

The prototype reportedly keeps the M2's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six under that new skin, though Riverti hasn't confirmed whether the engine has been retuned or left stock. No official information has surfaced on the transmission choice or any performance changes beyond the base car.

Riverti's tagline for the project, "Not 'resto.' Retro," sums up the pitch, modern underpinnings wrapped in decades-old design language, not a restoration of an original car. It positions the coupe alongside other low-volume, coachbuilt specials that start with a modern donor and chase a specific historical moment.

Production numbers remain a complete unknown, as does any reveal date. BMW itself built a modern 3.0 CSL in 2023 on the G82 M4 and limited it to 50 units, so Riverti's effort arrives in a world where the factory has already done its own tribute.

BMW M2 3.0 CSL retromod by Riverti Automobili

BMW M2 3.0 CSL retromod by Riverti Automobili

Photo by: Riverti Automobili

BMW 3.0 CSL Styling Shapes The New Bodywork

The four round headlights and reshaped air intakes are the most obvious nod to the original 3.0 CSL, a car built for European touring-car racing in the 1970s. Riverti paired that face with a bespoke hood and tightly spoked wheels styled after period motorsport wheels.

Flared fenders and custom taillights complete the transformation, and the car carries a prominent double rear wing treatment over the decklid. That stacked look echoes the CSL's own oversized decklid spoiler, which became one of its signature details.

The current M2's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six now produces 473 hp in both manual and automatic form, and curb weight sits in the high 3,000-pound range depending on equipment. Riverti has not detailed any changes to those fundamentals, so for now the tribute appears to use the stock powertrain.

What do you think?

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Comments

Motor1's Take: Riverti's M2 tribute is aimed at buyers who prize period looks and rarity over factory performance. That audience will accept a coachbuilt M2 as a display piece rather than a daily driver or track toy.

Success depends on price and production count. Kept tiny and costly, they'll attract collectors. If Riverti makes many, the conversion could lose its cachet with M2 purists.

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Source: Riverti Automobili via Autonext

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