BMW M4 CSL fast facts: TG Speed Week 2022

What is it?

The return of the CSL badge to a hardcore BMW for the first time in two decades. Take an M4, add 40bhp, strip out 100kg, and build just 1,000 of them.

What’s the BMW M4 CSL's killer feature?

Nerdy weight-saving. A carbon bonnet and bootlid save 24kg. The most aggressive M bucket seats yet save 24kg, the deleted rear seats save another 21kg, and the suspension components and wheels are also trimmed. All very impressive, but it’s still well over 1.6 tonnes…

Is the BMW M4 CSL a good car?

Here's what we said in our original review: "On track however, it starts to come alive. Having space to properly lean on the front end means you can marvel at the understeer-allergic turn-in, and get a sense – at last – of the car’s agility. The body control is a leap on from the already hugely impressive M4. The brakes remain unimpeachable. There’s massive traction to exploit, plus the hero-spec M Dynamic Mode allows an enjoyable amount of play before it saves your bacon.

"No, the engine still lacks charisma, the digital dashboard readouts are a godawful mess and the eight-speed automatic gearbox feels like a saloon car transmission doing its very best karaoke impression of a proper sports car gearbox – downshifts are a particular disappointment, sluggish, soft and delayed. Give us back the old M-DCT twin-clutch any day. But if you can put up with all that, this is a monstrously fast and exploitable track car."

Why does it deserve to be at Speed Week?

Hardcore BMWs have been very hit and miss recently. The V8 M3 GTS was a delight, but the M4 GTS was spikey. The M2 CS was tough to justify, but the M5 CS is an all-time great supersaloon. So where will the ultimate M4 fit into the family portrait? If it’s 911 GT3-good, we might forgive those grilles once and for all.

What are the BMW M4 CSL's specs?

Engine: 3.0-litre 6cyl turbo, 542bhp, 479lb ft
Transmission: 8spd auto, RWD
Performance: 0-62mph in 3.7 sec, 190mph
Weight: 1625kg
Price (as tested) £128,820 (£n/a)