The BMW M4 CSL is a more potent, track-focused evolution of the M4 Competition. Standing for “Competition Sport Lightweight,” the CSL sheds 240 pounds and adds 40 horsepower, for a total of 543 ponies and 479 pound-feet of torque from its twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six. It’s got even more carbon fiber, no back seat and brutal, fixed-back bucket seats up front. The lowered chassis is tuned for the race track. It also has an MSRP of $140,000. Take a look around, and see what makes the limited-edition M4 CSL special, and decide for yourself whether it’s worth the elevated asking price.
To read more about the 2023 BMW M4 CSL and other automotive news:
JOHN SNYDER: Hello there. I'm John Snyder and in the "Autoblog" garage this week, we have the 2023 BMW M4 CSL. That stands for "Competition Sport Lightweight" and this is sort of a special edition to celebrate the M unit's 50th anniversary. So let's take a look around, see what we got.
We got more horsepower, less weight, that's the big part of the story. Starting up front, we've got the grille that not everyone likes. Zack Palmer on our crew tends to like these, but this one has fewer slats for more airflow, again, less weight.
Got this nice carbon fiber splitter across the front. BMW laser lights has these unique DRLs that light up yellow under certain circumstances to mimic GT race cars. This hood is carbon fiber and it's painted in the factory and then these red accents are stenciled on, and then they just leave some of the carbon fiber poking through. Carbon fiber is a weight-saving measure.
Coming around to the side, we've got these unique M multi-spoke wheels. We've got 19 inches up front, 20 inches in the back wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires, which are really good in the corners. Carbon ceramic disk brakes and we've got nice, red painted caliper with the M logo on it.
We got carbon fiber mirror caps, M4 badging, and then on the roof here, this is also carbon fiber with more of the Red stripes and M4 CSL logo on there. Coming around to the back, we've got more carbon fiber here, the trunk lid.
Save some weight compared to aluminum. We've got this carbon fiber diffuser, 4 quad exhaust tips, and then we've got these neat lights. It's got these horizontal, laser threads, so it shines a laser through there to give it a unique signature.
And then, of course, M4 CSL badging with the M colors and the BMW roundel with the M colors. It's got this nice integrated duckbill spoiler. It's pretty sporty, pretty sleek, and they've done a lot to reduce the weight on this thing. So that's the exterior. Let's see what's going on inside the BMW M4 CSL.
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It's a little rough getting into these seats. They are full-bucket carbon fiber. They save about 50 some pounds compared to the M4 competition. They're not very adjustable.
You can move them fore and aft with a little lever here. But if you want to adjust them at all elsewise, you have to get out your wrench. Or if you want to adjust the height, they recommend you take it to a shop.
But that said, they are not comfortable and they're not good for long drives. This is a track-focused car. And in fact, you can remove these head restraints for when you want to wear a helmet. A lot of carbon fiber all over the inside.
Got this carbon fiber tunnel here, the center console. Again, saving weight. Carbon fiber trim, got carbon fiber on the steering wheel, on the shift paddles. Alcantara steering wheel, which big and chunky.
I don't really like the feel of Alcantara. It gets a little gross if your hands get sweaty. Wireless charging pad right here. That's standard equipment.
You'll notice there aren't any cupholders, so if you want to bring a drink along, you got to get creative. You can maybe fit it in some of the door pockets if it's a enclosed bottle, but you wouldn't want to bring a cup of coffee in here.
You got your shift lever here, controller for the iDrive. No manual transmission available in the CSL. You got to use these paddle shifters if you want to take things into your own hands or you can use this and move this forward and backward.
Some nice M color stitching on this little guy. Pretty cool. And lots of stitching on these Merino Black leather seats. Man, this thing, I don't know what it's called, but I hate it.
It really makes it hard getting in and out of the seats, along with these really high bolsters here. In front of me is a digital driver display. We've got a separate infotainment unit. A lot of other BMWs are using the curved single display.
Most of the stuff you have to control through the infotainment screen here and there's a lot you can control in terms of the vehicle, like drive modes, programming these little M buttons for power steering, damping. Can set it to control a lot of different things. You can also adjust the traction control through the infotainment, which is kind of neat.
If you want to take more than one passenger, you can forget about it. There's no back seats and you can't even put luggage back there. There's a little sticker that says not to. There are these little divots, though, for your helmets and a cargo net to keep them in place.
But again, getting them out of there is going to be a little bit difficult. These seats are fixed. You can't move them forward, you can't fold them. So you have to sort of contort your way around to get anything out. But track-focused, what are you going to do?
Enough about the interior. Since you can't put much in here, let's check out the trunk. Raising this carbon fiber trunk lid, you can actually see some of the carbon fiber around it. Inside the trunk, pretty spartan.
It's just a trunk. 12 cubic feet, just bare metal there and no movable floors, no special cargo areas, no special cubbies. Just a tire inflator kit and that's it. You're not going to put a lot of luggage in it.
You're not going to want to take this Grand Touring. You can put your track gear in it. That's all you need it for. And underneath this carbon fiber hood is BMW's 3-liter Twin Turbocharged inline-six engine, making 543 horsepower and 379 pounds feet of torque. And it sounds amazing.
That power goes to the rear wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission. It's good for a 0-60 time of 3.6 seconds, which is actually a couple 1/10's of a second slower than the heavier M4 competition with all-wheel drive. It's got an electronically limited top speed of 191mph. It'll make that 543 horsepower at 6,250 RPM and it produces that peak torque from 2,750-5,950 RPM.
The BMW M4 CSL, it's a pretty special car. I wouldn't want to drive it every day. But if you like to go to the track and you have a $140,000 to spend on a toy, pretty special BMW.
I wouldn't mind owning one myself. Anyway, thanks for watching. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe and let us know what you think of the M4 CSL in the comments below.
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