BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage

The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage (pronounciation: ho-mah-j, /homadʒ/) is a concept car by BMW that pays homage to the 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL racer, also known as the Batmobile.

Overview
In 2015 BMW introduced the 3.0 CSL Hommage concept car at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The car is a tribute to the 1972 3.0 CSL, a homologation special built to make the car eligible for racing in the European Touring Car Championship at that time. It has an inline-six engine with an eBoost hybrid system in the rear of the car. As a homage to the original, the 3.0 CSL Hommage has a minimal interior to keep the weight as low as possible; carbon fiber and aluminium are used in the cockpit for the same reason. The Hommage has laser-LED lights similar to those in the BMW i8.

The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage received a racing version, called the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage R, with a livery paying tribute to the 1972 3.0 CSL driven by Chris Amon.

Asphalt 8: Airborne
The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage was added to the game in the Elite Cars Update as the first Research & Development-unlockable vehicle of that update. It is the first BMW added in 2016, with the second being the BMW M2.

The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage may seem severely slow and underranked for a Class A car with its starting rank of 1077, the current second-lowest in Class A, but when maxed out, it reaches a rank of 1608, also seen in the RUF RT 12 S, and at MAX+PRO, it reaches 1773, the current fifth highest in Class A, only beaten by the SIN R1 (1776), the Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Special Edition (1776, 1828 with Elite Tuning), the Aston Martin One-77 (1777), and the Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (1778). The BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage not only has one of the highest upgrade rank increase (531 rank points), but also one of the highest Tuning Kit bonus (+76 rank points), thus allowing for a legitimate maximum rank of 1849. Via illegitimate methods, however (such as Elite mapping), its MAX+PRO rank can be uptuned to 1875, resulting in an unofficial maximum rank of 1951. With this, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage holds the highest rank ever achievable in the entire game.

The CSL Hommage currently remains the second best-performing non-Elite Car in the game. Its rivals include the McLaren Mercedes MP4-25, TRION NEMESIS, Devel Sixteen Prototype, McLaren MP4-31 and Aston Martin Vulcan.

Continuing the new trend of top-end Class A cars with low-power nitro and extreme top speed stats started by the Chevrolet 2016 Camaro SS, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage has underwhelmingly slow acceleration and launches poorly. As of the Rio de Janeiro Update, the acceleration for the Hommage has been slightly improved although its rate of acceleration is still inferior to the McLaren 675LT and 9FF GT9 VMAX. Despite the lackluster acceleration, it has the third highest top speed stats of all cars in the game, beaten only by the Devel Sixteen Prototype and Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Special Edition. The Hommage's handling and drifting abilities are impressive, albeit not the best in the game. The player must be careful of its below-average nitro efficiency (8/13/18). In all, while having poor acceleration and launch power, the Hommage can actually compete on any track especially because of its superb handling and extreme top speed. Another thing to be careful of is that the Hommage's handling curve is actually sharp even at speeds above 300 mph (483 km/h), which can create a problem for users with high steering sensitivity settings.

Where the Hommage really shines is its insanely high total speed. Even with poor acceleration, it can still beat higher-ranked cars like the TRION NEMESIS, if only by a few milliseconds, but is ultimately beaten by the Devel Sixteen Prototype (provided that Elite Tuning has been used with maximum on top speed and nitro) and Aston Martin Vulcan. Tests between the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage, Chevrolet 2016 Camaro SS, and Mosler GT3 on London, Dubai, and Tokyo/Tokyo Reverse have shown that the Hommage is the superior car. The Hommage is now also capable of posting a quick lap time on short tracks such as Rio de Janeiro and Alps with its improved acceleration aiding the extreme top speed.

These advantages can be brought into multiplayer races – if tuned properly, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage is capable of challenging multiplayer favorites like the TVR Sagaris, Chevrolet 2016 Camaro SS, Range Rover Evoque Coupe HSE Dynamic, Lamborghini Asterion, and above rank 1600 the TRION NEMESIS.

As of the Multiplayer League Update, the altered matchmaking server in the Multiplayer League has made the Hommage one of the most feared Multiplayer cars. Playing in a car with a rank above 1400 greatly increases the chance of getting matched with a Hommage, and meeting one likely means that the player has no chance to place first (this only applies to the rank brackets below 1600).

As of the Lunar New Year 2017 Update, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage is still one of the best-performing Class A cars. On short tracks, the Hommage loses to the McLaren Mercedes MP4-25 due to the latter's extreme acceleration and handling, but beats the MP4-25 on long and middle-length tracks. However, the Aston Martin Vulcan is faster than the Hommage on all tracks, due to having superior acceleration, nitro efficiency, and handling; the Vulcan is only slightly slower by 2.7 mph (4.3 km/h) in real speed terms.

As of the Car Blueprints Update, the Hommage's dominance in Class A is receding. The buffed acceleration of the Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Special Edition means that it can beat the Hommage on longer tracks. In addition, the Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and possibly the SIN R1, both introduced in this update, are able to beat the Hommage on certain tracks.

If not obtained via R&D, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage costs when released for a limited time, and  to max out. Alongside the Mosler Super GT, it is the only car to have some of its upgrades offered in tokens only. It is also the first non-Class S car with a five-digit token price.

Availability
Following the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage's first round of the Research & Development event, the car was made available in May 2016 and August 21 to 23, 2016 for a limited time for the aforementioned token price. In addition to its limited weekend offers, the BMW 3.0 CSL Hommage was also awarded as the top 10 prize in the 2016 November 25 Black Friday Cup. Its R&D event was revived on March 3rd, 2017. The car was made available once again for purchase on March 24, 2017, for 3 days. Currently, the 3.0 CSL Hommage is the only exclusive car from the Elite Cars Update that hasn't been made unlockable by Blueprints yet.