2023 will bring one more special M car – the BMW M3 CS (G80). The supped up M3 will be the top offering of the M3 family since no M3 CSL is planned. Currently BMW sells a base rear-wheel drive M3, along with the more powerful and, arguably more fun, BMW M3 Competition. But the 2023 BMW M3 CS will top both of these models in terms of performance, pricing and availability. After the incredible success of the previous generation F80 M3 CS (our video review here), but also of the M2 CS and M5 CS, it’s easy to get excited about new BMW CS models.
No Rear Bucket Seats
While most of the details surrounding the upcoming M3 CS are hardly a surprise, there was still one which was unclear – the rear seating choice. The BMW community has long speculated that the rear bench of the G80 M3 CS might follow in the steps of the M5 CS with individual bucket seats. But unfortunately, that won’t be the case with the M3 CS. According to our sources, and also corroborated by recent spy photos, the 2023 BMW M3 CS will feature a “normal” bench. Of course, we expect different materials inside the car, along with unique stitching will further differentiate the M3 CS from its M3 Competition sibling.
540 Horsepower
When it comes to power, the BMW M3 CS will produce around 540 horsepower, which puts it right below the 550 horsepower of the 2023 BMW M4 CSL. Furthermore, the BMW M3 CS G80 will allegedly be available only with the xDrive all-wheel system and will only use automatic gearboxes. Furthermore, the BMW M3 CS will be lighter than the Competition models, thanks to a wide range of standard carbon fiber parts. Just don’t expect the weight savings seen in the M4 CSL. If we were betting people, than we would wage to say that the M3 CS will be about 20-40 kg lighter than the M3 Competition.
Design wise, the M3 CS’ front-end sports the same design of the M3 Competition, but with an additional carbon fiber lip and yellow racing lights. There will most likely be a new set of wheels, specific to the M3 CS and M4 CS variants. In the back, we expect a new carbon fiber spoiler which will further differentiate the M3 CS from the rest of the lineup.
Pricing wise, we expect the BMW M3 and M4 CS models to cost at least $90,000 considering that the M3/M4 Competition start in the $72,000-$74,000 range. We’re expecting some sort of limited allocation for the M3 CS models, in the low thousands globally.
[Photos by instagram.com/wilcoblok]
