2023 BMW M4 CSL Is Not for the Faint of Heart

At an indicated 274 km/h (170 mph) on the Autobahn A94 Munich-Passau within the 2023 BMW M4 CSL, we muster the final crumbs of braveness and stretch out the precise foot all the way in which. Guess what occurs? The factor downshifts into seventh. At a ridiculous 5800 rpm, a token 1400 rpm under the redline—ignoring the hazard to the driving force’s historical coronary heart. At 300 km/h sharp (186 mph), it upshifts into eighth once more, nonetheless accelerating, however now with the digital velocity readout growing by 1 km/h at a time. (It’s 5:30 a.m., and there is not any site visitors in sight, so the relative danger is at its lowest.) Theoretically, this final M automotive is capped at 191 mph. However what checked out first like a barely noticeable kink up forward within the freeway all of the sudden felt like A Very Critical Nook. “By no means elevate”? T-shirts hardly ever inform the true story, however the rearview mirror all the time does. And it confirmed the driving force grinning from ear to ear.

The M4 CSL is BMW’s reply to the Porsche 911 GT3 and the upcoming Mercedes-AMG C63 S E-Efficiency. Just like the hardest-core 911s, this BMW is strictly rear-wheel drive, and it reveals, particularly within the moist with Michelin Cup 2 R tires, which ought to solely be authorized in sunshine states, not in Bavaria. In comparison with this beast, each different M4 is a kitten. For a begin, the CSL is a claimed 190 kilos lighter than the bottom model. You’ll be able to really feel the load financial savings, and you may as well hear it. Stripped of its again seat, the rear compartment has mutated into an enormous increase field. Some 24 kilos of eliminated sound-deadening materials exacerbate the acoustic assault, with the carbon-fiber roof capping the resonance chamber, and the titanium exhaust designed to lift goosebumps. A whopping 53 kilos have been saved by changing the usual seats with carbon-fiber screw-clamps billed as sports activities buckets. Upping the ache coefficient of the seats is the lowered and stiffened suspension.

The primary 20 miles are an I-hate-this-car expertise. The 275/35ZR-19 and 285/30ZR-20 tires wriggle alongside like a quartet of eels. The dampers in Sport Plus are devoted wholly to shock, not absorption. The steering is initially too gentle to be trusted. And each blip of the throttle strikes your nervous system like lightning. You by no means chill out within the M4 CSL, however the preliminary angst finally does recede as curiosity replaces it, adopted by the primary bouts of let’s name it confidence. In Sport, with tire temperatures finally the place they need to be, we lastly dare to dive into the automotive’s deep expertise pool and snorkel for all of the revelations it harbors. Like extra cornering grip than a gallon of Loctite and extra poise than such a zero-tolerance setup needs to be allowed to muster.

The CSL engine is the last word variation of the M division’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six. Its output is boosted from the bottom model’s 473 horsepower and 406 pound-feet to 543 horsepower and 479 pound-feet. That is the excellent news. The unhealthy information is the cash factor. At a beginning value of $140,895, one might purchase two base M4s for the price of a CSL with a number of choices. And BMW has closed the order books even earlier than the primary of the 1000 limited-edition fashions was delivered to a buyer. Shortage alone ought to make the striped-and-winged light-weight particular an instantaneous blue-chip funding—however is it? Though the CSL is exceptionally involving and outright quicker than its siblings by some margin, our estimated zero-to-60 time of three.3 seconds is eclipsed by the comparatively inconspicuous M4 Competitors xDrive, which can be down 40 horsepower however has the identical torque and hits 60 in 2.8 seconds, all for about $60K much less.

After simply over 200 miles, we needed to pit for gas. The mileage? An OPEC-friendly 12 mpg. However what the hell? It lastly stopped raining, and the winding route again to Munich promised a well-known Backyard of Eden dotted with twisties and freed from radar traps. Time to neglect the tame preset M1 program and dial within the satan’s personal M2 composition as a substitute. The popular algorithm appeared like this: engine in Sport Plus, gearbox within the S3 quick-shift setting, chassis in Consolation (compliance is management), DSC in MDM (M Dynamic Mode), steering and brakes in Sport.

Regardless of sure NVH conspicuities, the CSL drivetrain epitomizes absolute seamlessness. Exhausting acceleration brutality beams you thru time and house, accompanied by a howling, growling, barely filtered soundtrack. The initially explosive, then more and more progressive ahead thrust has its antidote within the merely stupefying carbon-ceramic brakes. There is not any doubt about it: This automotive makes your eyes come out in a single take solely to flatten the earlobes within the subsequent. It fairly merely redefines the Final Driving Machine.