A 50th anniversary special.
BMW has revealed a track-focused version of the second-gen M4 called the M4 CSL. Compared with the previous-gen M4 CS, there’s an L extra this time, which apparently stands for ‘Lightweight’. The other two, of course, stand for ‘Competition’ and ‘Sport’. The new M4 CSL is part of the M division’s 50th-anniversary celebrations and is limited to 1,000 units worldwide. Prices start at £128,225 (INR 1,24,21,770 or US$ 160,110) in the UK.
Visually, the M4 CSL looks very, very angry with smoked headlights with yellow running lights; red outlines on the grille, and two chiselled indents on the bonnet with again, red outlines. In addition to generous carbon fibre application on the lower part of the car, the bonnet, the roof and the bootlid are all made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP). Extra-lightweight M Carbon ceramic brakes and special light-alloy wheels, springs and struts further cut down the weight by around 21 kg (46.3 lbs). A titanium silencer cuts down another 4+ kg (9 lbs).
And notice that the kidney grille and the taillights have a different internal detailing. The car rides on staggered wheels measuring 19-inch at the front and 20-inch at the rear, wrapped with specially-developed high-performance tyres of size 275/35 at the front and 285/30 at the rear.
Inside, you have M Carbon full bucket seats with a six-point harness and detachable head restraints. The seats have a fixed backrest angle, however, forward/back adjustments can be made manually, and the seat height can only be adjusted in a workshop using a three-stage screw linkage. Other key features include an M Alcantara steering wheel, anthracite-colored headliner, carbon fibre accents, and of course, CSL branding. Deletion of rear seats and belts saved 21 kg (46.3 lbs) and cutting down on soundproofing material and switching to ultra-lightweight sound insulation further saved around 15 kg (33 lbs). The automatic climate control also has some specific mods to save some more weight.
M Traction Control with model-specific track tuning; adaptive M suspension with electronically controlled dampers; electromechanical M Servotronic steering with variable ratio; and model-specific wheel camber settings, dampers, auxiliary springs and anti-roll bars are some of the other key highlights of the special edition.
That aluminium bracing was specially designed for the M4 CSL. Underneath that lies a 3.0-litre in-line 6-cylinder twin-turbo petrol engine borrowed from the M4 GT3 race car. The output figures are 404.5 kW (550 metric hp) at 6,250 rpm and 650 Nm (479 lb-ft) between 2,750 and 5,950 rpm. An 8-speed automatic gearbox drives the rear wheels.
The special edition boasts a kerb weight of 1,625 kg (3,582.5 lbs), which is about 75 kg (165 lbs) lighter than the standard M4 Coupe. The official 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint time is 3.7 seconds, while the top speed is 307 km/h (191 mph).
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