Though he’s not on the level of Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Corolla’s car collection shouldn’t be sneezed at. The TV personality has, at various points in the past, owned a collection of desirable classics, including a 1966 Lamborghini 350GT, a collection of Datsun race cars, and a 1979 Porsche 935 that was driven by Paul Newman in the 1979 24 hours of Le Mans. Corolla also owns a 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, a race car many consider as one of the most iconic ones that BMW has ever produced. Unfortunately, Corolla’s ownership of the 3.0 CSL is unlikely to last long. That’s because the beautiful and legendary race car is up for sale. There's no attached price to it, but for the right offer, you have a chance to take home one of the most memorable Bimmer racers to ever smoke its wheels on a race track.

Classic BMW race cars don’t go for sale very sale very often, so when one of them goes up, it grabs our attention. As with most classic cars with the status of the 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, Adam Corolla’s 3.0 CSL has a fascinating story to tell.

The car itself was first purchased by German racer Heinz-Jorgen Dahmen back in 1972. A prominent racer at the time, Dahmen raced the 3.0 CSL in various racing series from 1972 to 2004, a staggering 32-year run that included five wins and eight podium finishes. When he hung his racing boots for good, the car was sold to Cullen “Cuffy” Crabbe, the son of actor and former Olympic gold medalist Buster Crabbe. The father-and-son tandem started in the NBC TV series, Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legions from 1955 to 1957. The younger Crabbe owned the car for seven years, often driving it vintage races. It was also during Crabbe’s ownership that the 3.0 CSL received an updated engine and was converted to Group 2 specifications. When Crabbe had his feel of the racer, he sold it to Adam Corolla in 2011.

Seven years after taking ownership of the 3.0 CSL, Corolla is now ready to hand it over to a new owner. Unlike the previous two owners, Corolla never raced the Bimmer, opting instead to let it sit in his garage as a showpiece item in his collection. The car’s ad, which is posted on Classic Driver, even describes the 3.0 CSL as being able to “fire up reliably and runs strong.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the 3.0 CSL, it’s hard to understate how rare the car is, especially here in the U.S. BMW produced four different iterations of the 3.0 CSL, all of which were produced in the span of five years. Of these versions, many BMW collectors consider the 3.2-liter version, the one affectionately called the Batmobile, as the most iconic of the lot.

It also happens to be the one that Adam Corolla owns. It’s hard to miss it, thanks to the massive air guides in the front and the equally enormous rear spoiler. The ad doesn’t say how many miles it has on the odometer, but considering its history, it’s been through the ringer a handful of times. Still, it looks in tip-top shape, a testament to the kind of care and attention that was given to the car by Corolla and its past owners.

The lack of a set price for the 3.0 CSL means that it could go for a pretty penny. Current market trends suggest that if you have anything less than $250,000 to $300,000, you might as well not even bother making a run at buying this true BMW classic.

References

Read our full review on the 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL.

Read more BMW news.