Photo: BMW
There’s been a lot of talk on the internet, these days, about the possibility of BMW launching an M4 CSL version and everyone is still wondering who’s got it right.
According to a very audacious title from Top Gear, quoting Matt Mullins, the product manager for BMW’s small to medium cars, there absolutely won’t be a CSL version of the M4 or M3 nowhere in the near future (and by that they mean at least the current generation model).
The explanation they give is simple: the car is already as light as possible and there’s simply no more room left for improvement. Excuse me while I call this BS! Not only the M3 and M4 still have room for improvement but I am almost certain they will launch a Competition Package for the two.
Just a simple example of how a CSL model could look like: take out the rear seats, make the bonnet, front fenders and front seats out of CFRP and you’ll easily save 100 lbs (45 kg). That’s not doable? Oh, maybe they’re thinking nobody will buy it.
That’s a possibility but, launching it in a limited-series run would make it sell like hot bread and an extremely desirable model, just like the E46 M3 CSL was.
My guess is that the CSL will show up, most likely around 3 or 4 years into the production, after the Competition Package models are released. That’s because the competition is getting stiffer day after day, with Mercedes-Benz’s AMG breathing down M’s neck and Lexus gaining similar traction in the near future.
Furthermore, a while back we heard that an anniversary, hardcore model would be released in 2016 and that fits our prognosis rather perfectly, be that a ZCP or CSL model. The main question now is, why is BMW still loudly denying such a possibility?
The explanation they give is simple: the car is already as light as possible and there’s simply no more room left for improvement. Excuse me while I call this BS! Not only the M3 and M4 still have room for improvement but I am almost certain they will launch a Competition Package for the two.
Just a simple example of how a CSL model could look like: take out the rear seats, make the bonnet, front fenders and front seats out of CFRP and you’ll easily save 100 lbs (45 kg). That’s not doable? Oh, maybe they’re thinking nobody will buy it.
That’s a possibility but, launching it in a limited-series run would make it sell like hot bread and an extremely desirable model, just like the E46 M3 CSL was.
My guess is that the CSL will show up, most likely around 3 or 4 years into the production, after the Competition Package models are released. That’s because the competition is getting stiffer day after day, with Mercedes-Benz’s AMG breathing down M’s neck and Lexus gaining similar traction in the near future.
Furthermore, a while back we heard that an anniversary, hardcore model would be released in 2016 and that fits our prognosis rather perfectly, be that a ZCP or CSL model. The main question now is, why is BMW still loudly denying such a possibility?
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