BMW traditionalists are spoiled for choice this year as the M4 CSL will be followed in the month to come by the new M2, complete with a stick shift. Enthusiasts with much deeper pockets are looking forward to another track-oriented beast since the spirit of the 3.0 CSL E9 will be revived for an ultra-limited M4 with a fully redesigned body and other upgrades.
The German luxury marque is making sure everyone knows the role its new car will play by simply naming it 3.0 CSL. Ahead of its official debut near the end of 2022, the coachbuilt M4 has been spotted performing some hot laps around the Nürburgring. Electrification may be inevitable, but there’s still time for an honest-to-God performance car with a good ol’ combustion engine without any hybrid assistance into the mix.
Some folks have been quick to criticize BMW for charging a yet-to-be-confirmed €750,000 for what is seemingly an M4 CSL with a different body and a manual gearbox. That does seem like an exaggeration on the automaker’s part since it’s not a dedicated M car, but it’s better to wait for the official reveal when we’ll have all the confirmed facts about the hardcore coupe.
560 HP, RWD and Manual Transmission
From what we’ve heard, only 50 cars are planned for production and sadly none of them are coming to the United States. Our sources have told us 30 units are earmarked for Europe and eight for Asia, with the remaining 12 for other regions. All cars will have a clutch pedal and rear-wheel drive, plus a slightly more powerful inline-six engine pushing out 560 hp.
This hardware arrangement should enable the remastered 3.0 CSL to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) from a standstill in three and a half seconds. That’s not too shabby for a RWD car with a manual transmission, one that’s expected to make extensive use of carbon fiber to keep weight in check. Rumor has it BMW will install 20-inch front and 21-inch rear bespoke wheels and paint the retro-flavored body in a unique color.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but we’re already liking this new front grille more than what the regular M4 is stuck with. While previous prototypes have been caught with a roof-mounted spoiler, this test car only had the wing mounted on the trunk lid. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter engine sounds positively glorious and we’re quite fond of the front bumper with the round air intakes reminding us of the M3 E46 CSL.
Logic tells us the wraps will come off after the M2 G87 and quite possibly after the production-ready XM as well. Its premiere should be the highlight of BMW M’s 50th anniversary in 2022, a year that has also given us the long-awaited M3 Touring.
Source: DPCcars / YouTube
