Good winds are blowing from Munich… the Bavarian brand is considering launching a hardcore version of the new M4. Will it be the return of the acronym CSL to the active?
Even today, when we hear the acronyms M and CSL together in the same sentence, we have shivers down our spine. The brand's most aficionados know what I'm talking about. Nobody forgets the BMW E46 M3 CSL – acronym for Ç oupé s port L eichtbau, or in good Portuguese something like a lightweight sports coupé – and that was an even more radical version of the M3 at the time and limited to just 1400 units.
Among the "goodies" of the M3 CLS highlighted the 6-cylinder 3.2 engine that was worked to have greater availability and power (a significant 111hp per liter) but mainly, all the changes made to the bodywork to reduce the total weight of the model stood out. Among them, the most admired was the adoption of a carbon roof. Something innovative for the time.
Now the director of the M division, Freidrich Nitschke (not to be confused with the similarly named philosopher…) has come to point out during the technical presentation days of the new generation BMW M3 and BMW M4 that the brand is considering launching a new CSL version. It would be superb.
Just imagine the new S55 3.0 twinpower turbo six-cylinder engine – which will be debuted in the new M and which in the standard configuration already delivers a massive 430hp at 7500 rpm, to be pulled to values that may approach 500hp. And now add (or subtract…) to this equation a weight of just 1400kg, according to Freidrich Nitschke.
Dear BMW administrators, if you are currently sitting at your desks reading our website – as we know you do every day… – a message on our behalf, and on behalf of all readers of RazãoAutomóvel: approve the M3 and M4 CSL! We'll wait, thank you.
Text: Guilherme Ferreira da Costa