The BMW M3 CSL (E46) is a German sport coupé built by BMW's M division. The acronym in the limited edition M3's trim stands for "Coupé Sport Lightweight", named after the 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, and was limited to a production run of 1,400 cars for release in the European market. Based on the BMW M3 (E46), the CSL was developed with a lighter overall mass as a prime target, based on technology crafted from research by BMW's Formula One racing team.