High M-tensity
Car and Driver|December 2022
BMW's M4 CSL is the ultimate M car, and it’s not for the faint of heart.
GEORG KACHER
High M-tensity

2023 BMW M4 CSL 

At an indicated 170 mph in the 2023 BMW M4 CSL, on the autobahn between Munich and Passau, we muster the last crumbs of courage and stretch out the right foot all the way. Guess what happens? The thing downshifts into seventh at a ludicrous 5800 rpm, a token 1400 rpm below the redline, ignoring the danger to our ancient heart. At 186 mph sharp, it upshifts back into eighth, still accelerating, but now with the digital speed readout increasing by 1-mph increments. Theoretically, BMW caps this ultimate M car at 191 mph. But what looks at first like a barely noticeable kink up ahead in the freeway suddenly feels like a very serious corner. "Never Lift"? T-shirts rarely tell the true story, but the rearview mirror always does. And it showed us grinning from ear to ear.

This story is from the December 2022 edition of Car and Driver.

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This story is from the December 2022 edition of Car and Driver.

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