This Company Will Give Your BMW M3 CSL A Manual 'Box For £3500

Remember that manual-converted E46 BMW M3 CSL which was up for auction not so long ago? The company behind the stick-shift transformation - Everything M3s - is now offering the kit to the wider public.

The beauty of ditching the clunky SMG gearbox the CSL came with from the factory is you don’t have to swap the whole transmission. As it’s a ‘robotised’ manual, you merely have to replace the automated stuff.

There’s still plenty of work to do, however - the original gearbox has to be removed, and once the electrohydraulic stuff has been taken off, a new clutch, flywheel and self-centring shifting mechanism are added. The final part of the process involves reprogramming the ECU so it knows it’s now dealing with a proper manual and not an SMG.

The conversion kit contains 180 genuine BMW parts, including the clutch pedal and gear stick. Sit in the cabin, and it should feel like a factory manual CSL would have done, had BMW actually produced one.

CSL prices have shot up in recent years, but owners needn’t worry about defecating all over the originality of their ‘investment’. The process is fully reversible, with all the removed SMG parts are “bagged and tagged” ready to go back in if necessary.

The conversion is reasonably priced at £3500. There is currently a waiting list, but “lead times are reasonable,” Everything M3s says.