BMWBLOG sat down with Sebastian Maier, the man in charge of the new BMW M3 project, to learn more about the M’s special model. When BMW announced that it would be doing the same for the M3, we were naturally excited. Not only would the M3 be getting sharper, more dynamics and more powerful, just like the M4 CS, it would be getting all of those thing on top of its awesome flared rear wheel arches. We think the BMW M3 CS might even look better than the sexy M4 CS Coupe and it can now be seen at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show.
It gets new lightweight goodies, such as the same carbon fiber hood as the top-of-the-range M4 GTS, lightweight wheels and an as-standard carbon fiber roof. While the new front lip, rear spoiler and rear diffuser are also carbon fiber, they don’t really reduce weight too much. However, the carbon fiber hood reduces weight where it matters most — over the front wheels. So the M3 CS will turn in sharper and provide sweeter steering.
Under the hood, the same S55 3.0 liter twin-turbocharged engine gets a power boost to 453 hp, up from the standard M3’s 425, and torque now peaks at 443 lb-ft, up from 406 lb-ft. According to BMW, those power increases help the BMW M3 CS get from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds, which is few tenths of a second faster than the standard car.
Let’s have a look.