Photography Courtesy BMW
How does BMW compute 50 years?
To date, only two production BMWs have ever been graced with a CSL badge: the 3.0 and the E46 M3. However, BMW M has unveiled a third CSL, this time based on the M4, to celebrate the motorsport division's 50th birthday.
In the spirit of the name, the new M4 CSL drops some 240 pounds and also gets a bump to 543 horsepower. Perhaps not surprisingly, the changes don’t stop there.
A number of components in the body, chassis and interior are made from carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. Plus, the M4 does away with a rear seat, replacing it with a shelf that’s apparently only good for two helmets.
On the aesthetic front, the exterior receives various red accents that include longitudinal stripes and a grille surround (you know, in case the grille wasn’t shouty enough already). Inside, you'll find red seat accents and stitching.
So, just how fast is this new CSL? BMW says it can hit 60 mph from a standstill in 3.6 seconds and has managed to set a Nürburgring lap time of 7:20.2–the fastest of any production BMW.
BMW plans to make only 1000 units worldwide, with production beginning in July of this year.
Base MSRP for the M4 CSL is $139,900 (not including destination). For reference, that’s nearly $61,000 more than the all-wheel-drive M4 Competition and almost double the price of the $72,000 base M4.
Keep reading to view the full specifications:
How does BMW compute 50 years?
50 years of CSL maybe?
In reply to buzzboy :
50 years of BMW M. Thank you for catching that.
My brush with a CSL... My dad bought this car from a customer of his German car repair business around ‘77 or so. This customer had several grocery stores, and bought a tractor-trailer rig at a sheriff’s auction, and this car was inside. My dad bought it for $2,500. Someone had blown the motor and crashed it in a test session at Road Atlanta.
Even “at cost”, the total to just get the parts was getting around $15k, so my dad sold it to Alf Gebhardt, who was running one in IMSA and T/A at the time. Last I heard (20 years ago), it was being restored at Black Forest Imports in England for a well known BMW enthusiast.
Ewwww.
Sadface emoji.
I may not be pretty but do some things well.
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