2023 BMW G82 M4

3.0 CSL 

VIN#: CM08030

ENGINE 3.0-liter twin-turbo S58B30 inline-six

OUTPUT 560 hp @ 7200 rpm, 405 lb-ft @ 2750 rpm

TRANSMISSION 6-speed ZF manual

CURB WEIGHT  3580 lbs. 

TOP SPEED 186 mph

BUILD DATE  February 2023

COLOR  Alpine White

OWNER  Courtesy of Hendrick Heritage

OWNED SINCE  2023

LOCATION  Charlotte, North Carolina

There’s nothing quite like a CSL. The badge debuted on the back of a flyweight 1970s special. On the 3.0 CSL’s 50th anniversary, the world was gifted a mainline production run of a CSL-christened M4, plus this: the ultra-rare 2023 3.0 CSL, a modern evocation of the ’73 classic.

From top to bottom, this CSL feels special. Its heartbeat is the most powerful production inline-six BMW has ever built, a twin-turbo, 3.0-liter tire-shredder pumping out 560 horses and good for a top speed beyond 186 mph. Rear-wheel-drive and a six-speed manual transmission were standard. On top of that came throwback roof and rear spoilers, gorgeous gold centerlock wheels, and bulbous, muscular bodywork reminiscent of the 1970s original.

Just 50 examples of the 3.0 CSL were built. And while those headline figures frame the car’s story, they only tell a portion of it. What makes this car special is how it was built.

BMW assembled those 50 CSLs largely by hand, piecing them together inside a built-to-purpose workshop in Moosthenning, Bavaria. Much of the work was intentionally performed close to the spot where M4 GT4 race cars were assembled. The production of this small run of CSLs was so elaborate, the detail work so demanding, only specialist technicians within BMW were trusted with the project. 

The stock M4 unibody alone required 16 hours of labor before it was ready to accept its bespoke carbon bodywork; that was attached to the car at BMW’s special body factory in Dingolfing. The gorgeous carbon panels are obscured by a striking set of painted-on graphics.

Due to the project’s complex nature, each panel was painted before final assembly, leaving zero room for error. Paint specialists projected the CSL’s tricolor M graphics onto each component via laser projector, ensuring a perfect match upon final assembly. All told, the application of those graphics consumed 134 individual steps per vehicle—a week of labor for each car, on paint!

To date, this is the most-powerful, most-limited, and arguably the most lovingly crafted
M3 ever built. We’d call it a fitting use for that holiest of BMW monikers.