Get Hotcars Premium. Start your free trial today

The 2023 BMW M4 CSL is a hardcore sports car built to annihilate the competition both on the road and the race track.

The 2023 BMW M4 CSL (originally standing for Competition, Sport, Lightweight) is set to roll down the assembly line in July, and like many modern masterpieces, it brings a compelling design and innovative technology experience. Unlike most other high-performance cars, however, it has an inimitable racing character that seems word-perfect in how it takes on even the most menacing tracks on earth.

A perfect culmination of BMW's history of Motorsport excellence, the M4 CSL was conceived to celebrate the BMW M division's 50th anniversary and follows in the tire tracks of special-edition BMW models released since the CSL badge first debuted on the monstrous BMW 3.0 CSL back in 1973 as a homologation special. Here are the 11 things we now know about the highly anticipated sports car.

As a limited-edition vehicle, only 1000 examples of the M4 CSL will be sold globally. This makes the car a rare opportunity for enthusiasts to own a valuable and genuinely collectible automotive treasure that is as exclusive as it is pleasurable to drive.

Such exclusivity places the M4 CSL in the same rarefied space as many world-beating high-performance machines from Ferrari and Lamborghini, including the Ferrari F12 TRS and Lamborghini Huracán.

As the name implies, the M4 CSL shares similarities with its siblings within the M4 range, albeit it is a more lightweight, high-powered vehicle than both the standard M4 and M4 Competition.

Several modifications have been made to the original M4 Competition to make the M4 CSL lighter and quicker around the track.

RELATED: Watch The New 2023 BMW M4 CSL Destroy The M4 GTS Nürburgring Lap Record

To imbue the M4 CSL with a more track-focused character, BMW designers revised the standard M4's underpinnings, adding standard adaptive dampers that allow the suspension to corner flatter while also ensuring a reassuringly compliant ride without jarring.

The firmer suspension includes stiffer anti-roll bars, a new aluminum strut brace up front, special programming for the traction control, as well as metal ball joints (instead of the rubber bushes on the standard M4) in the rear suspension links for longer life and low friction.

The M4 CSL will be powered by a boosted twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, which produces 543 horsepower – 40 more horsepower than the Competition variant – and 479 pound-feet of torque.

The greater output of the CSL is the result of an advanced dual-circuit cooling system that provides added cooling. In addition, BMW increased the turbo boost pressure by 24 percent from 24.7 psi to 30.5 psi.

RELATED: Here’s What The 543-HP 2023 BMW M4 CSL Brings To The Table

The M4 CSL comes with only a two-seat configuration, as BMW removed the rear seats as part of a drastic weight loss diet. The front seats have also been substituted with lightweight carbon fiber bucket seats trimmed in black Merino leather with red Alcantara inserts. In total, the interior changes shave off around 99 pounds of weight in total from the M4 Competition (53 pounds from using carbon-fiber bucket seats and 46 pounds by removing the rear seat).

The result is a lightweight, ultra-trendy form of transportation best suited for two adults desiring a capable coupe that fulfills their yearning for thrilling performance.

Compared to the standard M4, the 2023 BMW M4 CSL sits 8 millimeters closer to the ground thanks to new springs and other suspension settings that allow for the perfect setup for both road and track conditions.

The M4 CSL's sure-footed and confident stance is enhanced further by bespoke 19-inch front and 20-inch rear forged wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires to accommodate its extreme speed and provide superior grip.

RELATED: Here's A Custom BMW M4 CSL Which Looks Even Better Than The Original

BMW is famous for its tagline, "The Ultimate Driving Machine", but when it comes to performance, some models are more special than others. The M4 CSL, for one, encapsulates BMW's intrinsic values of nimbleness and agility to the letter.

Lightweight, responsive, and exceptionally fast, the sports coupe recorded a lap time of just 7 minutes and 20 seconds around the Nürburgring, making it the fastest production BMW ever (more than 7 seconds faster than the 2016 BMW M4 GTS). From a standing start, it reaches 60 mph in a breathtaking 3.6 seconds. To put this in perspective, the M4 Competition accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The CSL's top speed is limited to 191 mph, 11mph faster than the standard M4 Competition.

To present itself in top form, the 2023 BMW M4 CSL had to go on a diet, shedding around 240 pounds of weight over the Competition model. BMW engineers achieved this by altering the CSL's chassis as well as adding an array of lightweight materials such as carbon-ceramic brakes, carbon-fiber roof panels, light wheels, and unique M Carbon bucket seats. In addition, BMW removed the rear seats entirely to reduce the weight further.

Weighing just around 3,640 pounds, the CSL's diet worked, resulting in the most extreme, uncompromising, fastest, and lightest BMW sports coupe with a refined finishing that makes it the perfect luxury collectors' car.

RELATED: A Look Back At 50 Years Of BMW’s M Division

The 2023 M4 CSL will be an automatic-only car, as it will be mated to an 8-speed M STEPTRONIC automatic transmission with Drivelogic and the company's rear-wheel-drive system, which enhances the M4's remarkable agility, handling, and raw performance further to ensure an unrivaled exhilarating drive.

With the capability of the Drivelogic function, which lets you customize the way the transmission handles shifting duties, you'll always be in the perfect gear regardless of your driving condition.

Packaged in a robust frame that ensures both nimbleness and stability, the M4 CSL is available in three colors: Brooklyn Grey metallic, standard Alpine White, and Black Sapphire metallic.

On the other hand, the CSL-exclusive forged alloy wheels - available in 19-inch front and 20-inch rear versions - and large M-specific BMW kidney grille, retro BMW Motorsport emblem, stripes on the roof, ducktail spoiler, as well as the side skirts highlight the distinctive appearance of the M4 CSL.

RELATED: BMW Releasing 50 Jahre Editions Of M3 And M4

The 2023 M4 CSL will feature yellow daytime running lights, which are intended to serve as a mark of honor to earlier racing icons — a fitting tribute to 50 years of Motorsport.

The new CSL won't be the first modern BMW to feature yellow daytime running lights, however, as it was previously available on the M8 Gran Coupe and M5 CS. For their part, the LED taillights incorporate multiple layers of light strips that make them stand out.

Monday Goma delights in writing about cars. He has written buyer's guides, car reviews, product reviews, etc., for a bunch of car dealership sites in the U.S. When not writing about cars, Monday can often be found either playing FIFA or researching new automotive technologies. Monday is married to a very devout, hardworking, strong-willed, and truly remarkable woman.