The 2025 BMW M4 CS on a track in Austria where we hits speeds of more than 260 kilometres an hour.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
The BMW M4 Competition is already quite a special car. It fits four passengers comfortably, has a big trunk and even gets good gas mileage. Show it a twisty back road or a race track and it will put most sports cars to shame. No one’s driving one and coming back asking for more performance. It’s already as fast as you’ll ever need to go. Except, now you can go even faster with the 2025 BMW M4 CS.
A couple of years ago, I drove the M4 CSL on a track in Ontario. It was limited to 1,000 copies for the world and it was so fast and so thrilling I said it was the best fast BMW I had ever driven. But there was a problem: No rear seats. Room for four adults is typically one of the best things about an M4; it’s a coupe but you can still take your friends along for the ride.
The new M4 CS gets a lot of the same carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic bits from the CSL like the hood, front splitter and rear diffuser, and it also gets the motorsports-derived 543-horsepower turbocharged straight-six cylinder engine and the large open kidney grilles. It’s mechanically identical to the four-door M3 CS which we saw last year. The best part about it is that it still has its rear seats in place, so it’s every bit as practical as any other M4. It also has all-wheel drive and that means it can accelerate faster than the rear-driven CSL, despite weighing more.
The carbon diet continues inside with a centre console moulded from the stuff and full carbon bucket seats. It all adds up to a rather underwhelming 35 kilograms saved over an M4 Competition which already weighs 1,809 kilograms, so it’s a heavy car no matter which way you look at it.
That weight appears to evaporate when you have 543 horsepower at your disposal and a track on which to unleash it. You need a track for something like the CS to make any sense, unless you like less comfortable seats and a much stiffer ride on your daily commute.
A stiff suspension is perfect for the glass-smooth surface of the Salzburgring race track in Austria, especially when the “warm up” lap has us pushing well over 200 kilometres an hour. The cars come with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, which are barely legal street tires. After a few laps, they get so sticky you can leave fingerprints in them. They’re not even meant for the rain, which gives you an idea of what the CS is all about. The M4 CS comes standard with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and the Cup 2 Rs are an available option.
As the lead car in front picks up speed, we fall behind and are asked to close the gap. The CS accelerates with a vicious growl and a ferocity not found in lesser M4s. There’s so much grip from the Michelins that you barely hear a peep from them even when you think you’re at the limits of adhesion. The M4 CS is as fast as you want it to be, but it requires equal amounts of bravado to really explore its potential. The cornering speeds are so high that it’s hard for the brain to keep up unless you do this regularly. The chassis is wonderfully balanced and the front end is so eager to turn in that you have to remind yourself you’re not in a full-blown sports car. Nothing seems to flummox the CS on the move, and even hitting the extra-large curbs at speed only brings a slight shimmy from the steering wheel.
Somewhere north of 260 kilometres an hour, moments after being spit out of a corner, I had to ask myself why most supercars were even relevant when something like this M4 CS exists. It looks ostentatious enough with its gaping kidney grilles and all its carbon add-ons, and if you paint it in one of the new colours like Riviera Blue or Frozen Isle of Man Green, you’d get the same amount of attention a Lamborghini would. Unlike the Lambo, you can also take three friends and their stuff with you.
The CS starts at $150,000, which is $49,000 more than the M4 Competition. It’s a significant gap but on a racetrack the CS is louder, scarier and quicker in the corners. It’s more than the sum of its parts. It also makes the M4 Competition feel sedate in comparison. If track days are your thing, the CS can be your new secret weapon. If you just need a fast and fancy commuter, the Competition is the way to go.
Tech specs
2025 BMW M4 CS
- Base price/as tested: $150,000, plus about $2,500 for freight and predelivery inspection, plus taxes, including the luxury tax.
- Engine: Three-litre twin-turbo inline-six that makes 543 horsepower and 473 lb-ft of torque
- Transmission/drive: Eight-speed automatic / all-wheel drive
- Energy consumption: To be announced
- Alternatives: Mercedes-AMG C63 S E, Porsche 911, Chevrolet Corvette, Audi RS 5, Lexus RC F, Ford Mustang Dark Horse
The 2025 BMW M4 CS looks ostentatious with its gaping kidney grilles and all its carbon extras.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Looks
It’s nearly identical to the M4 CSL, minus the duck-bill rear spoiler. The large grilles are essentially two big holes for ingesting copious amount of air.
The CS has no armrest, a carbon fibre reinforced plastic centre tunnel, carbon fibre trim and carbon racing seats.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Interior
The M4 CS gets the updated interior that’s being rolled out across the 3 and 4 series lineups, which means a subtle facelift, redesigned centre console and new air vents with joystick like controls. The CS has no armrest, a carbon centre tunnel, carbon-fibre trim and carbon racing seats. It’s about as racy as a 4 Series interior gets.
The CS in Frozen Isle of Mann Green.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Performance
It’s significantly more engaging on a track than the M4 Competition and would probably trounce every competitor on the list.
The large grilles are essentially two big holes for ingesting copious amount of air.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Technology
The design in the tail lights is made from bundles of fibre optic cable illuminated by a laser diode and they look brilliant. Overly complicated Drive mode settings allow you to tweak the engine response, chassis, steering, braking and even the all-wheel-drive system. There’s also a drift analyzer and traction control system with 10 settings. Thankfully you can save two separate configurations and pull them up quickly with buttons on the steering wheel.
The cars come with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, which are barely legal street tires.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Cargo
There’s a large trunk with 440 litres of space. And you can always use the back seats if you don’t have any passengers.
The verdict
The best M4 yet.
The writer was a guest of the automaker. Content was not subject to approval.
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