To be a heavyweight on the racetrack, you must first be a lightweight. In 1992, 1994, and 1995 BMW produced a limited number of lightweight M3's. The factory started with an E36 M3 and then removed practically everything not needed for competition.
Here's what was eliminated:
* air conditioning - but included heating
* sport leather seats - replaced with "leather lightweights"
* interior noise reduction mats
* underhood insulation
* trunk panel insulation
* rear bumper diffuser
* forged wheels
* spare tire and jack
Here's what was added to the vehicle:
* aluminum doors
* duel exhausts
* special carpeting
* sport suspension
* revised rear axle ratio of 3.23:1
* an X-brace assembly to hold the entire front end together
The weight savings was about 200 to 300 pounds over a stock M3. The savings varied depending on which of the performance options were added by the customer. Mine had the "Luxury Package" added straight from Munich with the deletion of the Strut Tower Xbrace and deletion of carbon fiber trim. Lightweight #96 is identical to my Lightweight #88, but currently resides in Australia.
There were overall two versions of the E36 lightweights: The CSL (Coupe Sport Lightweight) and the SSL (Sedan Sport Lightweight)
