"In this Special Series, I document my experiences with a replica Vorsteiner trunk, and how it prompted the development of a redux E92 CSL Carbon Trunk with Vorsteiner. 

In this entry, I chat period "correctness" and I source what was advertised as an original Vorsteiner trunk."
- Matt

Lineage & period correctness. 

The E92 M3 will go down as a classic design with its uniquely softened body lines over its predecessors and successors. Yet, I've always felt the Coupe deserved a more distinctive rear end. 

In the Summer of 2022, I rocked the Touring mode: I sold the M Performance trunk spoiler. I like the look, it was sleek. 

It quickly soured on me and felt a bit blend. 

The E36, E46, E60, E92 and later F80 M cars all have some design lineage with clearly defined, generation specific styling. 

The E36 had the massive LTW wing, the E46 had the ducktail trunk, the E92 got an underwhelming GTS wing and the F8x M cars were back to the ducktail with a more aggressive styling.  

In the Spring of 2022, I received the Karbonius E46 M3 CSL carbon trunk. I fell in love with the ducktail aesthetics. 

A singular, discontinued aftermarket design. 

Unfortunately for us, BMW M didn't give us any period-correct blueprint for the E92's trunk. 

Back in the early 2000s, Vorsteiner came to market with a new CSL style carbon trunk for the E92 M3. It was a re-imagination of the classic E46 looks made from pre-preg carbon fiber.

They visibly had an eye for it. Today, they run Guntherworks and recreate Porsche 993s in complete carbon. The original CSL trunk's mold has unfortunately been discontinued. 

Many companies tried making fiberglass based, cheaper alternatives, but they could never get the design down right, nor the fitment. 

Sourcing a used classic, sort of.  

In the Winter of 2022, I sourced a used trunk from a Facebook group member. It was advertised as an original Vorsteiner product. I wired 900$ and sent over a 300$ shipping label for the trunk to show up a few weeks later. 

Upon receiving it, I noticed it had none of the authenticity stickers usually applied to Vorsteiner products. 

The light cut outs were rough, those for the emblem were non existent, the edges were soft, the panels were thicker than they should be and the trunk was heavy. I got hustled. This was a fiberglass replica from who-knows-where. 

The trunk had previously been painted Alpine White and had a carbon section that was left exposed. It was a common look when these came out. 

The car went in for fitment and paint by the beginning of Fall. It had been delayed as I ended up daily driving the M3 V8 over the Summer because of delays in parts for the V10. 

The trunk was first primer'ed inside & out. 

Gone was the exposed carbon fiber edge of the ducktail. It's a bygone style. 

The primer'ed trunk shell was sanded down to level it out before final fitment & paint work.

The color match with Fire Orange is relatively straight forward considering it's a non-metallic color. The clear coat hasn't moved or shrunk into the carbon since: it has stayed flat with no visible orange peel. 

The ducktail is ever more impactful when fully painted. 

Up next: we review the final aesthetics, and zoom in to evaluate fitment.

It's a lot worse than it looks.