Modern BMW performance wrapped up to look like the legendary 3.0 CSL.

When the second-generation BMW M2 arrived for the 2023 model year, the two reactions from the general public were: 1.) Yes please, and 2.) Does it have to look like that though? BMW gave enthusiasts nearly everything they wanted, from twin-turbocharged inline-six power to an available manual transmission for the diehards, and then wrapped it in a package that was approximately 35 percent too much Minecraft.

Thankfully, if it wasn’t quite as pretty as the previous generation, at least it drove like a concentrated-espresso version of the M4. A stick shift and nearly 500 horsepower make a pretty compelling argument, and anyone offended by the M2's styling won't have to look at it for very long because it'll be gone in a flash.

However, when measured against the elegance of BMW’s back catalog, the current M2 could have been a little prettier. Fret not, an Italian coachbuilder called Riverti Automobili is here to reclothe the M2 in some snappy 1970s fashion that stretches all the way back to the very beginning of BMW's M subbrand.

0 CSL had such wild aerodynamics that it was nicknamed the “Batmobile” and the name stuck. Fun fact, the huge rear wing was actually delivered uninstalled in the trunk from the factory, as it wasn’t actually road-legal in Germany.

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