The new G-series M3 and M4 have left me a little cold. Could a CSL version warm us all up?
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First of all, let me say that I’ve long been a fan of BMW’s engineering, broadly speaking. And I don’t want to sound like an old man yelling at a cloud, but the faster and heavier these cars get, the less I’m interested.
Recently I compared a G80 M3 to an E34 M5 (one of my favourite ever M5s, fwiw) and was slightly shocked by the results:
Yep, the so-called M3 has (once-again) out-grown another old-school M5. In fact, the latest G80 is closer to the new M8 than an old M5. Ughhhhh….
So colour me as ‘slightly interested’ when I heard the term CSL bandied around last week. The rumour on Nürburg-street is that this M4 prototype will become a CSL.
CSL (Coupe Sports Lightweight) has previously only been attached to some very special BMWs indeed. The last of which was the E46, a car I was lucky enough to drive more than a few times over the Nürburgring. Though if you did have one today, you’d probably be best advised to wrap it in cotton wool and notify the millions of car-collecting-auction-photo-sites.
Power is not a problem for the M4, the S58 kicking out in 510hp in Competition form. But lightness? Well, now I’m interested. That’s a very big car, and I doubt very much it could achieve E92 levels, even with helium in the tyres.
But let’s see what happens next, shall we?
