After the E30 in the 80s and the E36 in the 90s, BMW had to relaunch the 3 Series with a new generation capable of seducing as much as its predecessors. This is how the E46 came to be marketed in 1998. The CSL (Lightweight Sport Coupe) is the most successful version of the E46 M3. Its name refers to the BMW 3.0 CSL which was famous in the 1970s on European circuits.