Test of the BMW M4 CSL: Riding the monster of the Nürburgring

There are powerful, light, fast cars capable of transmitting strong sensations behind the wheel… and then there is the M4 CSL

The protagonist of these pages steals your soul, he takes over your will because he not only puts 550 horses under your right foot, he forces you to use them in the best possible way every kilometer. Refrain from those who are not capable of keeping a pact with the devil. The rest, prepare to savor the absolute power, which only a machine like the BMW M4 CSL is capable of giving you.

The BMW M4 CSL and its feat at the Nürburgring

Think of the most powerful and fastest BMWs of all time. Now put them in a list. Surely you have included names like M1, M5, M6 Coupé Competition, M3 V8 GTS, M4 GTS or M8 Coupé. Well, now you can burn it because what you have in front of you is the fastest street sports car made by the house in Munich, the fastest of all time. It is said soon, right? His ‘time’ of 7:15.766 at the Nürburgring circuit is simply indisputable (and the video makes your hair stand on end) . There is no other better reference, the car that is capable of flying low in the ‘Green Hell’, is effective on any layout, on any road.

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When you have him in front of you, you don’t have to know his feat on the German track to necessarily feel intimidated before taking his wheel or at least trying… The gloom of the garage does not allow us to appreciate with the clarity that they deserve, details so Valuable as the red lines that run along the entire side line of the coupe in its lower area or how the two huge longitudinal stripes that combine this same tone with black, extend from the front grill to the hood and continue to the roof, which of course it is carbon fiber. This same material is present in the aerodynamic kit of this model: skirts, deflectors, spoilers and other elements that are crucial for it to be perceived from the first moment as what it is, a much more beastly M4 and also more exclusive than the standard one. . Not in vain,Only a thousand copies of this CSL will see the light of day, I reflect just before resuming the maneuver to access the passenger compartment , which is definitely not going to be easy.

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Coupe Sport Light

The three magical acronyms that BMW has rescued for this M4 had been unpublished since the M3 of 2003 –E46 generation–, and honor the origin of the brand’s sportiest models in motorsport and, especially, its obsession with the scale. With 360 horsepower and 1,382 kilos declared, the CSL power-to-weight ratio of the early 2000s was quite the benchmark – 3.84 kg / CV – but guess what? our M4 improves the figure and clearly. Each of the 550 horsepower that our beast’s 3.0 TwinPower Turbo develops moves 3.09 kilos.

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Thus, when you manage to jump –literally– to the bucket with a carbon fiber structure that is available to the pilot or co-pilot, you realize two things: you are wedged in and there are no more seats because for the engineers every kilo counts and because definitely, we are riding in a real racing car. Behind us only a net to leave in this area a jacket or at most a pair of helmets and gloves, there is no room for more. But the best thing about being in a garage is that when you start the M4 CSL, you are equally amazed by its LED laser headlights with yellow reflections and, above all, by the sound produced by its titanium exhaust. We haven’t gotten into first gear yet and we’re already traveling, because these are sensations that take you back to the golden age of racing, when the racing cars of any competition required mechanics and spectators to wear helmets or earplugs at certain times. And it is that the great pleasures, you have to know how to dose them.

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Without the opportunity to ride on the circuit, but with time to devour kilometers as I please, I set out for the Sierra de Madrid. The A1 helps me to measure the potential of the vitaminized M4 that I drive, always ready to shoot my heart rate and also knock down the needle of the marker with the same efficiency, at the slightest excess with the accelerator. It is noticeable that in this version the turbo blows at 2.1 bars, instead of 1.7 as in the ‘normal’, but above all I appreciate every imperfection in the asphalt much more due to the tires on one side and the work carried out carried out by engineers on the undercarriage.

Saving weight has been one of the maxims of the engineers when redesigning the cockpit of the M4 in this CSL version. For example, dispensing with the rear seats and replacing the front ones with buckets with a plastic structure reinforced with carbon fiber, has allowed the car to lose weight by 45 kilos. However, the Merino leather upholstery, the Alcantara-covered steering wheel and the decorative carbon moldings give a sophisticated and elegant air to a cabin where there is no lack of complete multimedia equipment and a multifunction steering wheel which, by the way, also includes buttons for memorize two favorite settings: ‘M1’ and ‘M2’.

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Effective yes, demanding too

The CSL is one of those cars that constantly ask you to guide them, which together with the poor soundproofing in the cabin and the intense sound that comes from the engine, does not take long to generate a unique atmosphere.

The M Steptronic transmission –by torque converter– seems more direct and stimulating than before and in the first rally stages that come my way, the motor skills that it is capable of exerting on the rear wheels are impressive. In the fast corners and in the slow ones too , this M4 makes the hair stand on end because they take over them completely. A cocktail of agility, precision, good pace and strong sensations behind the wheel, really hard to beat.