Shanghai show: BMW M4s keep coming with CS

BMW has continued its recent stream of special-edition M4 coupes, with the announcement of a brutal CS edition that will sit above the M4 Competition and below the already sold out exclusive M4 GTS when it is released towards the end of this year.

BMW Australia general manager of corporate communications Lenore Fletcher said that while the CS was not yet confirmed for Australia, it remained squarely in their sights and if previous hi-po M4s are anything to go by, a handful will end up in Australian showrooms.

“Of course we want them,” she said. “Australia is the performance car capital of BMW, in fact in terms of percentage of sales, we top out the list for around the world for M vehicles.

“We are very interested (in the CS) and we believe that we will be able to bring that car to Australia during 2017, quarter four, and we’re very excited about it.”

It is unknown at this stage how many examples of the CS will be produced, but Australia managed to secure 10 examples of the M4 DTM of which only 200 were made worldwide.

Out of 700 examples of the M4 GTS produced worldwide, 25 made their way Down Under, with all of them snapped up almost immediately.

The CS has been built to offer a similar level of performance to the GTS, but with the creature comforts seen in the slightly less savage M4 Competition.

Power in the CS is boosted by 7kW/50Nm over the Competition, making a total of 338kW/600Nm from its 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six, which helps propel the car from standstill to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds.

Carbon-fibre and carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) has been used extensively to bring weight down from 1752kg in the Competition to 1580kg.

CFRP is seen on the bonnet, roof and rear splitter, while the front splitter and rear lip spoiler are crafted from exposed carbon-fibre.

The CS is deliberately less track-focused than the hardcore GTS, with the front splitter no longer adjustable and the lip spoiler replacing the GTS’s large, adjustable rear wing spoiler.

Inside, the CS has a more passenger-like feel with the removal of the roll cage from the GTS, while Recaro racing seats have been swapped out for BMW M sports seats.

However passenger comforts have still been sacrificed in the name of weight savings, with the trim in the door panels and rear compartment replaced for a compacted natural fibre with carbon-fibre look, while the door handles have been removed in favour of simple loops.

Spring and damper settings have been revised over the Competition, and the CS rides on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber. Carbon ceramic brakes can be optioned.

The CS lapped the famous Nurburgring, where it was developed, in 7 minutes 38 seconds, placing it between the M4 Performance and M4 GTS for lap times.

Two new colours will be offered for the CS – San Marino Blue metallic and Lime Rock Grey metallic.

Pricing has not been announced, but punters can expect the CS to sell for somewhere between the M4 Competition’s $165,900 asking price and the whopping $295,000 required to own a GTS.