Rather than cranking the dial up to 11 as the CSL did, this car aims for a perfect 10

Find BMW M4 CS review: When M gets it just right deals
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Getting excited about the BMW M4 CS requires an understanding of its big sibling, the M4 CSL

That was the 1000-off, extra-special M4 that came out a couple of years ago, and while it was hideously expensive, it was also the first product in two decades to which M felt comfortable assigning its most venerated nameplate: the lesser-spotted ‘Coupé Sports Licht’.

But the ripsnorting M4 CSL wasn’t a unanimous knockout. With its bonnet stripes it looked OTT and, at £130,000, it cost the same as an Audi R8. The driving experience was also broadly that of the regular M4 Competition. Which, to be clear, is no bad thing. 

But if you deign to dish out those hallowed letters, then some people will expect a ramp-up in drama akin to that of stepping from a Porsche 911 Carrera S into a full-blown GT3, and the CSL wasn’t that car. At 1650kg, neither was it all that licht, even if the 100kg saved over the Comp wasn’t bad going.

So the CSL remains a touch unloved, even if it is undoubtedly an extraordinary M4. My go in one back in 2022 was brief, but the way that endless nose folded itself into corners – simultaneously flat and instant, but fluid and natural – left an impression. 

Compliance was borderline but the handling fizzed with energy and the souped-up straight six was a thuggish delight with a metallic turbo rasp. If anything, the real issue was thatthe thing was too oversteery.

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A sideways glance at the throttle pedal could loosen the tail. Punting the CSL down a damp B-road was a cold examination of your synaptic aptitude. It was brilliant but feral.

Which brings us to the new, ‘lesser’ M4 CS. It promises to bottle most of the CSL’s vivacity but with sweeter road manners and fewer wayward handling impulses.

DESIGN & STYLING

bmw m4 cs review 02 side panning

Both cars share the same 542bhp 3.0-litre straight six, plus the punchy stripes adorning a full-carbon bonnet, as well as having standard-fit carbon-ceramic brakes. 

The CSL also donates its titanium exhaust silencer, which hangs provocatively from the CS’s reprofiled, carbon apron. Under the skin, the CS has a bespoke tune for the damping, springs, DSC, steering and brakes. 

INTERIOR

bmw m4 cs review 05

Inside, there’s a new, Alcantara-clad steering wheel with a quite subtly squared-off base, as well as the pared-back carbon-finished centre console from the CSL and mighty bucket seats.

It’s a fabulous cabin – perhaps, for a track-day-type creation, a touch dominated by the displays, but serious all right.

RIDE & HANDLING

bmw m4 cs review 11 front cornering

The driving experience is pitched squarely between M4 Competition (10sec slower on the Nordschleife) and CSL (4sec quicker). However, the decisive element is a driven front axle – so notably absent on the fighty CSL.

The resulting car is, on acquaintance, a real honey. The M4 CS’s date with a damp B-road will have to wait, but on the Salzburgring – a lumpy circuit that is more useful than most for unravelling road cars – the CS sings.

Anybody coming from a lower-slung, more dedicated sports car will need a moment to adjust to the BMW’s freer vertical body control and lighter steering, but the confidence the car quickly instils is a joy.

More easy-going on-throttle adjustability – not quite to the CSL’s mad levels, but not far off – would surely come with less sticky tyres than the optional Michelin Cup 2 R rubber fitted to our test car. 

Even as is, the CS wants to take a silken touch of yaw in all the right places. Elsewhere, the unflustered accuracy on turn-in, its mid-corner stability, then huge traction on exit combine to make seamlessly smooth, devastatingly quick lines easily achievable and rewarding.

VERDICT

bmw m4 cs review 16 front static

Four hot laps go by in a flash and that’s our lot. Could the car feel a touch lighter, its brakes a tad more resolute, its steering feel a smidge grainier? Sure, but the big picture is one of a class-leading sports coupé, and by some margin. Only 100 of these will be coming to the UK.

Richard Lane

Richard Lane, Autocar
Title: Deputy road test editor

Richard joined Autocar in 2017 and like all road testers is typically found either behind a keyboard or steering wheel (or, these days, a yoke).

As deputy road test editor he delivers in-depth road tests and performance benchmarking, plus feature-length comparison stories between rival cars. He can also be found presenting on Autocar's YouTube channel.

Mostly interested in how cars feel on the road – the sensations and emotions they can evoke – Richard drives around 150 newly launched makes and models every year. His job is then to put the reader firmly in the driver's seat.