BMW M4 CS review

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Rather than cranking the dial up to 11 as the CSL did, this car aims for a perfect 10

BMW’s recent appetite for extra-special versions of its mainline M cars shows no sign of letting up, and the latest derivative to arrive in the UK is this: the wild-looking M4 CS.

This is a model its maker says exists in the “broad space between racetrack experience and soul-stirring road performance”, and there’s certainly evidence to back up that sentiment. The car’s engine, cabin and use of composite materials closely resembles that of the hardcore, Porsche 911 GT3-baiting, rear-drive M4 CSL of 2022, yet here the highly adaptable four-wheel drive system of the regular M4 Competition is retained, as are the back seats that were sacrificed to save 21kg in the track-ready CSL.

Garching’s form when it comes to cars like this can be variable, but when it nails the recipe, the results are generally world class, and very special indeed. The previous M4 CS was a success but a qualified one, its honed dynamics not entirely justifying an at times frustratingly spartan cabin. But since then we have also had the M5 CS – a five-star Autocar road test car and, depending on who you ask, perhaps the greatest super-saloon of all time.

BMW has never offered cars such as the M4 CS cheaply, and a price the far side of £120,000 will certainly give even M diehards pause for thought, not least because it puts the car into the same airspace as the recent, and very fine, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS. But if this latest CS is as good as we know it could be, it might justify the outlay. Massive performance, handling exploitability and genuine usability in a single package is on the cards.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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02 BMW M4 CS 2025 review rear corner

Calculating how far to take an M4 in medium-rare CS form is rather a delicate art, if you’re M. Too little deviation from the standard Competition recipe and you risk irrelevance in the line-up; too much and there’s a chance you’ll narrow the operational breadth of the car in a manner that’s acceptable for the collector-grade CSL but fatally undermines anything else.

This time round, the balance of priorities seems to have been struck nicely – not least because of course, for this generation, M’s xDrive technology allows the front driveshafts to be decoupled in every M4 derivative except the purely rear-drive CSL. We have found there’s little reason to opt for 2WD mode on the road in the M4 Competition, but for the kind of track-day situation for which the CS is conceived? It’s an excellent option to have, not least because going RWD also brings M’s excellent multi-stage traction control system online.

Under the carbonfibre bonnet you will of course find M’s closed-deck ‘S58’ 3.0-litre straight six in the same 543bhp and 479lb ft tune as the CSL, which is to say 20bhp up on the regular M4 Comp but equal in terms of torque, even down to the broad peak plateau from 2750-5950rpm. The uplift in power is achieved by raising the boost pressure of the engine’s two single-scroll turbos to 2.1 bar, with a corresponding ECU tickle. The CS also gets stiffer engine mounts than the standard car, for crisper throttle response, according to M (not that the S58 is a laggard in any of its previous forms).

Drive flows through an eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF, which then feeds an electronically controlled limited-slip differential between the rear wheels. The front-rear torque split is constantly changing, though in the default ‘4WD’ it still overtly favours the back axle, and does so to an even greater extent in ‘4WD Sport’. At the back of the car you’ll find an aggressive carbonfibre diffuser to match the splitter at the front. More meaningfully, the CS gets a titanium exhaust system some 4kg lighter than the regular car’s stainless-steel plumbing.

Move round to the flanks and you can’t help clocking the pronounced negative camber, especially on the front axle. It’s quite the statement of intent, and is the only visible trace of a suite of model-specific tweaks applied to the CS’s damping rates, springs (3% stiffer than those of the Comp at the front, 5% at the rear) and anti-roll bars, whose droplinks are now rose-jointed. The aim is to make the CS feel more connected on the road and quicker on the track. The same applies to CS-specific steering mapping and the tune for the Dynamic Stability Control and much-loved M Dynamic Mode, all of it to minimise lap times and put a smile on your face while doing so, for novice or expert. At least, that is the intention here.

The other notable element of the CS package is a touch of weight-saving. As standard, the bonnet, roof and plenty of aero addenda are wrought in CFRP, and this car is also fitted with M carbon-ceramic brakes, at a cost of £8800. All in, this car weighed 1747kg, versus 1800kg for the pre-facelift M4 Competition we tested in 2021, which had cast-iron brakes. It’s a notable saving, though doesn’t threaten the 1607kg of 911 Carrera GTS we tested recently – undoubtedly the M4 CS’s closest rival in terms of price, power and philosophy. Even so, 309bhp per tonne is hardly to be sniffed at.Both cars share the same 542bhp 3.0-litre straight six, plus the punchy stripes adorning a full-carbon bonnet, as well as having standard-fit carbon-ceramic brakes. 

The CSL also donates its titanium exhaust silencer, which hangs provocatively from the CS’s reprofiled, carbon apron. Under the skin, the CS has a bespoke tune for the damping, springs, DSC, steering and brakes. 

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INTERIOR

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11 BMW M4 CS 2025 review interior

On acquaintance the cockpit of the M4 CS could hardly feel more serious. Perhaps six-point harnesses would up the ante, but everything else you would expect to find in a track-day blade is here. Deep, carbon-shelled bucket seats; an Alcantara helm with squared-off base; minimal clutter on the carbonfibre-cased transmission tunnel; some angry red buttons on the steering wheel.

It’s a place that feels decently special. Special enough to justify the car’s price? Just about, yes. Perceived quality is certainly high, the ergonomics are superb, and the switchgear has a solidity about it that even Porsche often doesn’t quite match, though the CFRP gearshift paddles do remain strangely uninvolving to pull. 

The CS gets an aggressive CFRP splitter, with the bonnet, front intakes and rear diffuser also made from the lightweight material. GT3-racer-style yellow headlight elements also mark it out.
Richard Lane
Deputy road test editor

Mind you, there’s not a lot in here you couldn’t option in the standard Competition, and the one truly exclusive bit of kit – the pared-back centre console – is more of a hindrance than anything. Keys and wallets no longer have a secure home under the central armrest, because the CS doesn’t have one of those, and the retracting cover of the storage area ahead of the gear selector is also done away with.

It all feels a little unnecessary: style over substance? A bit. The opposite is true for the rear seats, which might be a touch tricky for adults to get into and out of, but once aboard they are comfy, with plenty of head and leg room. It’s an area where the CS decisively puts one over the 911. 

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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03 BMW M4 CS 2025 review side profile

The M4 CS is the fastest-accelerating M car we have ever timed, beating the M5 CS’s 3.0sec 0-60mph by a tenth and maintaining that slender lead to 100mph.

It’s a prodigiously – and shockingly – quick coupé. In fact it borders on supercar-rapid, and the combination of versatile Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres and a driven front axle means outrageous thrust is accessible more or less any time you want it. Note the car’s 2.5sec 30-70mph in kickdown, which is two-tenths less than it takes even in a PDK-equipped Porsche 911 GT3. It seems odd to refer to a car that weighs nearly 1800kg and costs £122k as a ‘giant-slayer’ but that’s what the M4 CS is.

As for drivability, the CS uses the same well-chosen gear ratios as the Competition (and the CSL). A car of this ilk is perhaps better suited to the sabre-sharp cog-swapping qualities of a dual-clutch gearbox, but the crispness with which this ZF auto operates is very impressive, all the same. And given you can still configure the red M1 and M2 switches on the steering wheel for a wide range of scenarios, you’re also never more than the push of a button away from the right shift strategy if you want to leave matters to the car’s brain. Equally, you can take manual control via the paddles (and the CS won’t automatically upshift at the 7200rpm redline).

Note, though, that while it is responsive for a heavily blown engine, and decently linear (at least beyond 2500rpm, which is when the turbos come online and the CS’s acceleration really ramps up), the S58’s character remains more brawny than clinical. For track-day work you’d get more satisfaction from the new 3.6-litre flat six in the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS, which wears turbocharging more lightly and sings more pleasingly towards the red line.

RIDE & HANDLING

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25 BMW M4 CS 2025 review rear drift

The driving experience is pitched squarely between M4 Competition (10sec slower on the Nordschleife) and CSL (4sec quicker). However, the decisive element is a driven front axle – so notably absent on the fighty CSL.

While the M4 CS is available with hardcore Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, our car’s Pilot Sport 4S Michelins undoubtedly make it a better-behaved road car. Even so, the bandwidth of this mid-ranking M4 is fairly slim. Tired roads expose the reactivity of the chassis, which doesn’t settle as easily as that of the Competition.

That said, find a smooth surface and the CS feels stunningly positive, arcing through bends with more agility and intent than the Competition while feeling more resolute and, frankly, trustworthy than the CSL. At times it’s hard to imagine a quicker point-to-point car, not least because of the grip and traction on offer, and the confidence derived from the way the CS communicates weight transfer without actually rolling too much. All modern M cars do this, but the CS does it particularly well.

But despite the speed, the visual cues and the pared-back interior, the CS ultimately has more of a GT feel to it than a sports car. Technical roads demand you hoick damping rates to maximise control, but this often comes with a faint brittleness and still doesn’t entirely contain the big body’s vertical movements. The car is happiest on flowing routes with the odd tighter corner where you can revel in a chassis with no dearth of low-speed, throttle-on adjustability (M Dynamic Mode remains excellent). The only thing is that the M4 Comp is also superb in these situations – and costs less.

What the Comp can’t do is hit the same heights of control and poise as the CS can on track. Here the car thrives, revelling in its ability to go purely RWD, with a nailed-down front axle that helps bring the tail into play with wonderful ease. The 4 S tyres overheat fairly soon and then the heavy nose starts to push, but Cup 2s would sidestep this problem.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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01 BMW M4 CS 2025 review front corner richard lane

At £122k the CS is only marginally less expensive than the CSL was in 2022 (£128k), and that car came with ceramic brake discs as standard.

It’s also 30% more expensive than the regular – and excellent – M4 Competition. So you might regard it as a hard sell, but look at the field and you'll see that today there’s not much in the way of alternatives if you want a road-biased but track-ready super-coupé for all seasons and with all the modern conveniences.

The 911 Carrera GTS is the closest rival but costs even more and isn’t as usable, given its tiny back seats and loudness at a cruise. A touring economy of 32.4mpg in the M4 CS is also enough to get you from London to the Nürburgring in one go.

VERDICT

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26 BMW M4 CS 2025 review hero static

Looking back, when BMW conceived the M5 CS a few years ago, it created a rod for its own back. The car was not only quicker than the regular M5 Competition, but also more alert, more pliant and, to top it off, more communicative too. It was an extraordinary achievement – a real landmark.

Since then we’ve expected great things of any CS, and in some ways this M4 delivers. It is outrageously quick yet serves up its turbo shove in a controllable way, and will stand down when you need it to. It also bottles some of the CSL’s glint-eyed intent but does so in the context of the Competition’s predictability. Alas, while crushingly capable, it lacks that enough of that any-circumstance, more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts CS magic we'd hoped for.

BMW M4 news

BMW M4 CS joins Competition Sport line-up
BMW M4 CS joins Competition Sport line-up
BMW M4 facelift brings more power and tech upgrade
BMW M4 facelift brings more power and tech upgrade
BMW M4 CS: next generation to land in 2024
BMW M4 CS: next generation to land in 2024
50 years of BMW M podcast - the men at the very top
50 years of BMW M podcast - the men at the very top

Richard Lane

Richard Lane, Autocar
Title: Deputy road test editor

Richard joined Autocar in 2017 and like all road testers is typically found either behind a keyboard or steering wheel (or, these days, a yoke).

As deputy road test editor he delivers in-depth road tests and performance benchmarking, plus feature-length comparison stories between rival cars. He can also be found presenting on Autocar's YouTube channel.

Mostly interested in how cars feel on the road – the sensations and emotions they can evoke – Richard drives around 150 newly launched makes and models every year. His job is then to put the reader firmly in the driver's seat.