COVER BMW M4 CSL

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SPORTINESS Optional carbon fibre-backed bucket seats from the regular M4 are standard in the CSL. They offer superb support and fix you in place for a more involving drive

Steve Sutcliffe

mail@autoexpress.co.uk

BMW doesn’t use its CSL badge often, with just two other cars wearing the sacred moniker in the last 50 years. But whenever it does, the results tend to be spectacular, and this new £128k, 190mph M4 Competition Sport Light is no exception.

Not only has it lapped the Nürburgring Nordschliefe faster than any other production BMW in history, it’s also the most potent sixcylinder BMW ever. Its 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six and eight-speed automatic gearbox are fundamentally the same as those found in a regular M4 Competition, but engine output has risen to 543bhp and 650Nm, while the gearbox has been remapped to deliver sharper, faster shifts.

Cooling and lubrication have also been significantly improved for the track, while the brakes are carbon ceramic. The suspension has been comprehensively reworked and the tyres are Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S. If you’re seriously committed to circuit driving, Cup 2s are available at no extra cost.

Perhaps most important of all, the CSL weighs 100kg less than a regular, rear-wheel-

BMW M4CSL

FIRSTDRIVE Hardcore M4 powers up and loses weight

drive M4, at 1,700kg, thanks to the removal of its back seats, plus the addition of a new lightweight bonnet and bootlid. Although the CSL is lighter, it’s not what you’d call a featherweight: the last CSL, based on the E46 M3, weighed just 1,385kg. You’d be hard pressed not to pick a CSL from a regular M4 visually. Our car’s lookat-me black and red stripes and frozen grey paint are standard issue, but the CSL also rides 8mm lower while its 19-inch front and 20-inch rear forged cross-spoke alloys are similarly bespoke. As is the pared-back, carbon-festooned cabin, which features the lightweight seats that cost thousands if you spec them on a regular M4. The 0-62mph sprint takes 3.7 seconds, which is a pretty immense time for a car that’s still rear-wheel drive, remember. But then the CSL is one of those cars that “You walk away muttering in disbelief – not just at what the CSL can do, but how it does it”

somehow manages to over-deliver right the way across its dynamic repertoire. So despite its weight and sky-high price, you still walk away having driven it muttering to yourself in disbelief – not just at what it can do, but how it does it. It’s very much a proper CSL.

It feels instantly lighter and more incisive than a regular M4. The seat clamps you in position behind the suede-rimmed steering wheel, and although the cabin still features the same big central touchscreen and iDrive controls, it feels more focused.

It sounds it too, thanks to the louder exhaust and the removal of sound-deadening material. The level of road noise is louder and more intense as a result, and you can even hear the fuel sloshing around in the tank when you come to a halt.

Yet the CSL’s ride is still surprisingly decent – unless you dial the adaptive dampers up to 11 and select Sport Plus mode, at which point you need to hold on tight. The point is, in its default mode the CSL isn’t the hardriding, uncompromising track-day renegade you might expect it to be judging purely on its looks. In certain respects, and on most surfaces, it’s actually better damped than the regular M4, while the steering doesn’t suffer the same kickback over rough roads.

In most respects – the way it sounds, rides, stops, goes, changes gear, looks and so on – the CSL represents a decent step up over the already fiery M4 Comp. But in the area that arguably matters most – the way it steers – there isn’t enough to distinguish it, which is a shame. Not least because the older E46 CSL’s steering was sublime.

Not that the M4 CSL is in any way a disappointing car overall. Its extra performance alone (which is truly outrageous) is almost sufficient to justify the nutcase price premium. Then there’s the extra fizz from its chassis and brakes, both of which are way stronger than standard. And that’s before you even mention the fact that it will be limited to just 1,000 examples worldwide, with only 100 coming to the UK.

The M4 CSL wears its badge with sincerity. It’s the real deal, even if it doesn’t quite hit the spot like its predecessor so clearly did.