2024 BMW G80 M3

CS

VIN#: FS01438

ENGINE 3.0-liter S58B30 twin-turbo inline-six

OUTPUT 543 hp @ 7200 rpm, 479 lb-ft @ 2750 rpm

TRANSMISSION 8-speed ZF automatic

CURB WEIGHT  3890 lbs

TOP SPEED 188 mph

BUILD DATE  January 2024

COLOR  Signal Green

OWNER  Drew Leslie

OWNED SINCE  2024

LOCATION  Winter Springs, Florida

Cliché or not, you’d have to call the M3 CS a four-door supercar. In real-world testing, the CS hits 30 mph in just a single second, then carries on to 60 mph in a scant 2.7 ticks of the stopwatch. The quarter mile is a blink, 10.7 seconds at 129 mph. This is, without a hint of hyperbole, Lamborghini-besting performance. (Seriously: the CS accelerates more quickly than a Lamborghini Aventador.) 

Except: This supercar-slayer has room for your toddler seat. Plus a trunkful of golf clubs. 

To build this extreme G80, BMW consulted the text for Hotrodding 101, raising turbo boost from 24.7 psi (M3 Competition) to 30.5 psi. The end result was 550 hp—47 horses more than the M3 Competition and 70 more than the standard M3.

To match the new output, BMW stiffened key components in the CS’s chassis, adding firmer engine mounts and bushings and cutting weight where possible. The roof, hood, splitter, front air intakes, exterior mirror caps, diffuser, spoiler, center console, shift paddles, and interior trim strips are all carbon fiber. A titanium muffler saved an additional eight pounds. 

All told, the CS’s lightweighting subtracted 39 pounds from a comparable M3 Competition xDrive, for a curb weight of just under 4000 pounds.

The CS sent power to all four wheels by default. Michelin’s hard-core, track-centric Pilot Sport Cup 2R tires were an optional extra and reinforce the CS’s raison d’etre. Throw in the Adaptive M suspension and optional M Carbon ceramic brakes, and you had what seems like the perfect storm, at least on paper. 

What the stats can’t tell you, though, is just how effective those changes felt on a track—dividends were paid out in steering feedback and a feeling of nearly limitless grip once the Cup 2Rs warmed into their grippy sweet spot. An eight-speed automatic was the CS’s only available transmission.

The CS’s interior was treated to a pair of gorgeous carbon-backed seats in the style of race buckets. BMW limited CS production to some 2000 cars, making it one of the rarest trims in the G80 lineup. That sound you hear is Aventadors everywhere breathing a sigh of relief.