BMW’s next big thing is currently under development. The upcoming BMW M4 CSL is going to be the first car to wear the iconic “CSL” nameplate since the E46 M3 CSL back in the early ’00s. The E46 CSL is the stuff of legends and often regarded as the best driving BMW of all time. Big shoes to fill for this new one, then. While we won’t know if it’s capable of filling the E46’s massive shoes for quite some time, we do get to look at it, as some new spy photos recently surfaced, showing off the M4 CSL putting in some time at the Nürburgring. (We don’t own the photos but you can see them here)
The upcoming BMW M4 CSL will be the fastest, most extreme, best handling M4 of all. It will also be an only child, as there won’t be an M3 CSL to go along with it. It will pack a tuned version of the M4’s existing 3.0 liter twin-turbocharged I6 that will make somewhere between 550-560 horsepower. We don’t have exact figures but we’d bet on somewhere in that range.
It will also be lighter, lower, and more aggressive. You can see in these spy photos that it sits quite low. Its body work is also more aggressive, with a sportier front bumper, some new side skirts, and a ducktail rear spoiler. The latter of which will be a CSL-exclusive, as the less M4 CS won’t have it. One oddity is its new grille insert, which features the largest air openings of any BMW grille in history. It’s barely even there.
As far as we know right now, the BMW M4 CSL will be rear-wheel drive and automatic-only. While we’ve heard that BMW is still open to the possibility of a manual transmission, we doubt it ever actually happens. Plus, after having driven both transmissions in the M3, the auto is the better choice, which still shocks me to say.
These photos are only a tease of what’s to come. BMW fans are incredibly excited about the idea of driving yet another CSL product, especially after the two recent smash hit CS models, in the BMW M5 CS and M2 CS. If the CSL can capture some of that magic and somehow make it even better, the BMW M4 CSL is going to be an epic driver’s car.
[Source: Motor Authority]
