[Law]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

BMW UK press release that is. Elsewhere in the world, this trim for the M3 was called the competition package, the first iteration of the competition pack for that matter. The "new" CS line up is intended to be slotted between the Competition model and the CSL/GTS. So I have to disagree with you, the UK CS is not the precursor of the current CS, but rather a re-labelled Competition pack.

I am just nitpicking here, the OP remains one great article

Thanks for the kind words.
Unfortunately, you still misunderstand and you're definitely nitpicking .

If you go back and reread the quote, I introduced the press kit as BMW's press release for the UK market (what other press release would it be, since the E46 M3 CS was marketed as such in the UK only). Nowhere am I dodging this and I will reiterate that the wording of the OP acknowledges that the E46 CS only existed on a quasi-official level.

But again, what is the title and intent/context of the article?
To trace the origins and precedents for the nomenclature and positioning of the CS & CSL models.

I recognize your reasons for not wanting to equate the E46 M3 CS (due to lack of universal consistency across BMW AG) and the F80 M3 CS. Your logic is sound here.

But if you take the context into consideration, the article serves to provide a logical basis (i.e., a precedent) to which the idea of the "M3 CS", was conceived conceptually, the "seed", if you will.
The E46 M3 CS was a ZCP equipped M3 but for the UK market.
Taken alone, and out of the context of this thread, the two have no relation.
But the E46 M3 CS was also reinterpreted (by BMW marketing in the UK and UK media/press) as a "CSL-lite", (where even with subsequent E9x & F8x M3/M4 competition pkg/competition models, one would be hard-pressed to call them "GTS-lite" models). It would really take the M4 CS and M3 CS of the F8x generation to provide that "GTS-lite".

Similarly the E46 M3 CSL was not a homologation road-going race-car like the 3.0 CSL, but they still shared a suffix.
Because even though the E46 CSL was not a homologation race-car, it was still a "Coupe Sport Leicht" in the sense that it was a lightweight, more focused version of the standard car.

Precedent and predecessor are entirely different things.
The case I'm making for the "CS" and "CSL" in this thread is one of precedent.
In other words, I'm talking strictly about the moniker and the inspiration for such.
My article attempts to establish a historical connection and precedent for the name, not genealogy per se.

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

BMW AG does not even recognise its existence since it introduced the F80 M3cs as the "first ever" in their worldwide press releases.

About that, this is why I keep using the word "quasi-official".
The E46 M3 CS was "official" in the sense that it was, indeed, sold and marketed by BMW as an M3 CS in the UK.
But it was "unofficial" in the sense that on a macro-level, it was a BMW M3 with the ZCP package equipped.

But that doesn't discount the name one bit.
Let me propose a hypothetical:
Take the US Market.
We had, for the E9x generation, a special edition M3 called the Lime Rock Park Edition, which, in macro-BMW AG level terms is technically just an M3 Coupe with Fire Orange paint, ZCP, cloth seats, and some M Performance goodies.
Let's suppose that down the road, for whatever reason, BMW wants to use the LRP name globally for a future special/limited edition M2, for example.
If you were to detail the origins of the Lime Rock Park nameplate, you would naturally give an honorable mention to the E92 M3 LRP on the basis that the nameplate was first used (in the US market/quasi-officially) on the E92 M3 to denote special status. Even if the E92 M3 LRP was only marketed for the US, the precedent for the LRP as a name for a special/limited edition car was already established.

Now, back to the press kit.
You'll notice the F80 M3 CS Press Kit is different for both US and UK releases.
Both are dated August 11, 2017, but the choice of wording presents entirely different implications.
The title of the US press release is "The First-Ever BMW M3 CS."
The title of the UK press release is "The new BMW M3 CS."

The wording of the UK press kit title for the F80 M3 CS is intentionally ambiguous in the use of the word "new" instead of the unambiguous "first-ever".
This is because "new" can take on two definitions in this case:
a) Produced, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time; not existing before.
b) Beginning anew and in a transformed way; superseding and more advanced than another or others of the same kind.

This choice of wording purposely allows flexibility in the interpretation, which makes sense for the UK market, since there already existed an M3 CS, or maybe not. Depends on your interpretation. See where I'm going here?
Sometimes it's advantageous to be intentionally ambiguous.


We can agree to disagree, but the logic behind the E46 M3 CS's honorable mention is sound and justified given that this is a thread detailing the precedent to the nomenclature (i.e., origins) of CS and CSL models.