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Family road trip – in a BMW M3 CSL




Vicki with the BMW M3 CSL (© Microsoft)

Microsoft

I used to think just two ingredients made the perfect road trip car - power and precision.

So machines like the Porsche 911, Lotus Elise and Ferrari F430 jostled for the top slot whenever I dreamed of munching miles across countries. All you need, I reckon, is a car with the accuracy to turn into a bend at speed and the grunt to exit it - with tail sliding abilities for greedy pleasure.

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I've never considered comfort or space to be important, let alone essential, and once even replaced a suitcase with a wine case on the return leg from Le Mans. A passenger is a luxury too - as long as there's enough room for me and a credit card, that's just fine. Until now.

A third element has entered the fray since I became a mum earlier this year and it's perhaps the least sexy term in the motoring dictionary - practicality. But, as I'm learning, even the most hardened petrolhead needs this eventually: I've had plenty of in-depth chats with Jason Plato about the usefulness of ISOFIX baby seats, and window blinds with cat whiskers on them. And he's a double British Touring Car Champion.

So, determined not to retire my 'speedy' gene on our first ever family road trip, I had to pick my wheels very, very carefully.

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Decisions, decisions
The 911 was the first contender because it will fit a baby seat in the back - hurrah - and that's a rare feature in a high-performance car. And think of the fun I'd have behind the wheel! But it won't fit a buggy, a travel cot, baby food, drinking bottles, sterilising equipment, nappies, clothes and toys. Plus a long-weekend's worth of adult gear.

So, dropping down a level on the badge scale, I pondered BMW's £53,000 M3 with its 4.0-litre V8 and 420bhp. A great choice. But not quite great enough, because once I'd started thinking of the perfect road trip car, I knew it had to be special. Super special.

Earlier this year I spanked a £120,000 M3 GTS round a racing circuit for Fifth Gear and its appetite for speed and its desire to swing its arse have etched themselves into my soul. But not one of the 150 owners would be foolish enough to drop the keys into my grasping, clasping claws.

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However, the GTS did bring me close to the car I eventually picked as my perfect partner - the M3 CSL. The Coupé Sport Leichtbau - a lightweight version of a M3 with 360bhp and more carbonfibre than a Formula One factory.

Slideways
A few years ago I spent the day at Silverstone racing circuit in one, sliding my way round the track giving passenger rides - total joy. So, with 260bhp per tonne, one of the best handling chassis I've ever played with, rear seats and a decent boot, the M3 CSL was the perfect fit for our trip.

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Our destination was Deauville on the west coast of France, some 300 miles from home, and the deceptively large boot swallowed all but one bag which we carried in the cabin. Things were looking good.

But then I slipped behind the wheel and immediately regretted my decision to overlook the normal M3. The seat! Rigid and bucket-type, it fixed my back into such an unnatural position I was reaching for the osteopath's number.

Thankfully it didn't last long as a couple of miles on, my spine sort of melted into it and I only remembered how convex it had been once I extricated myself at the other end.

That aside, the CSL was an utter joy from start to finish. The unique sound from the 3.2-litre six-cylinder had us opening the windows through tunnels, and giving a few extra indulgent revs at both ends of the Eurotunnel.

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Rare and valuable
Fewer than 450 were made in right-hand drive eight years ago, with a £58,455 price tag each, and the secondhand motor I borrowed still commanded strong money at £30,000. We received a few knowing nods from fellow travellers as they caught sight of the CSL's tell-tale integrated rear spoiler, just subtle enough to attract the right sort of attention.

As the miles sped by, I couldn't wish for a better-shaped steering wheel and it has just the right amount of squidgy-ness, too. It gives you the confidence to place the front tyres with mathematical precision at any speed, too.

The rear-drive chassis is perhaps my favourite part because it's ever-ready to please. It will change direction as quickly as a flock of starlings and it rewards a keen peddler by keeping them on their toes as the limit of grip rushes up. Too much right foot out of a corner will force the boot to start overtaking the bonnet, but if you know what you're doing it's really good fun, sliding progressively rather than snapping sideways. The throttle response is commendably instant too.

After what felt like a mere hour or two, we arrived at our resting place, the Normandy Barrière Hotel, feeling as fresh as when we'd left home. The hotel's porter did a double take when he opened the boot, and shuffled off to get a big trolley.

It was a brilliant car to pick - quick, agile and practically perfect in every way. Even Mary Poppins would approve.