BMW M4 CS

M Division finds its sweet spot4

- Georg Kacher

THE TERM ‘limited edition’ tends to flick a switch within performance car buyers. Like any car company, BMW aims for profit margins, so it has historically encouraged its M Division to churn out one sought-after special edition after another. One year after the sold out 368kW/600Nm M4 GTS, BMW is at it again with the gapfilling M4 CS. The plan is to build 3000 Competition Sport models, which will be priced to slot between the halo GTS and the Competition Pack. So with a $211,610 sticker, is the CS worth the (considerable) extra dough?

Few performance cars are as sexy as this centrefold coupe sprayed in San Marino Blue. Almost everything on this BMW M4 CS is spot on: the classy matte-pewter finish on the 19- and 20-inch wheels shod with 265/35 and 285/30 Michelin rubber; the redesigned front splitter, roof, apron and rear spoiler baked in carbon fibre; the eye-catching OLED tail-lights; the neatly executed Alcantara trim and the lightweight bucket seats. The two-door coupe certainly has presence.

Signalling performance intent from the outset is the fact that the doors now need to be pulled shut via fabric loops – Jenny Craig deemed the traditional grab handles unworthy of the new CS diet. And given the inner skins are pressed from natural fibres, the door pockets have also gone, too. While the 1580kg kerb weight doesn’t scream crash diet, it seems BMW is taking the CS moniker seriously.