SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW: BMW delivers M4 CS

BMW has made a Goldilocks version of its four-seat, two-door M4 Coupe.

Even within the corridors of M, there are people who think the M4 is too soft and others who think the M4 GTS is too hard. And that’s where the M4 CS comes in.

Developed largely on the Nürburgring, where it slipped by the spy photographers unnoticed, it whips around the Nordschleife in 7:38 to sit neatly between its softer and harder brethren.

Where the GTS is a pure track car, the rear-drive CS is a fast road car that’s happy on the track, but forgoes the GTS’s outrageous rear wing and adjustable front splitter and still manages to whip to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds.

Instead of a big rear wing, the 1580kg sports car uses a small Gurney flap on the carbon-fibre bootlid, a fixed front splitter and no roll cage, all of which BMW claims keeps it stable at up to 280km/h, when its speed limiter chimes in.

BMW also sidestepped giving it the CLS badge, even though it uses a carbon-fibre roof, boot and bonnet and even though the engine delivers another 50Nm of torque and an extra 10hp.

Now listed at 338kW, the twin-turbo straight six engine also pumps its torque up to 600Nm, which edges the M4 Competition Package by 10 per cent. It revs out to 7600rpm before striking its limiter, but the engine delivers its power peak at 6250rpm and its torque peak between 4000 and 5380rpm.

The 3.0-litre engine still uses two variable-geometry turbochargers along with variable valve timing and lift, which not only helps it to deliver a wide spread of performance, but ekes out 8.4L/100km on the NEDC cycle (or 197g/km of CO2).

The changes are more than a software tweak and a new badge, too, because its suspension tune has been completely reworked to be firmer than the M4 Competition Package.

Like the rest of the M4 range, it has Comfort, Sport and Sport+ driving modes, with different damper settings changing the car’s character to suit each situation.

It hasn’t completely ignored the harder, faster limited-edition GTS track car, utilizing its rear diffuser and adopting its pioneering Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) tail-lights.

One of the greatest changes is the use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) around the car. Besides the rear diffuser, the CFRP bonnet is 25 per cent lighter than the alloy version on the M4, while the roof is 6kg lighter than the metal one, effectively lowering the car’s centre of gravity.

It rides on custom 19-inch front alloys and 20-inch rears, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres (265/35 R19 fronts and 285/30 R20 rears), though everyday drivers can switch to the more rain-friendly Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber.

Four-piston brake callipers at the front and two-piston units at the rear anchor the car, though carbon-ceramic discs and a six-piston front end comes in an optional package.

Inside, it uses front seats from the M4 Competition Package, upholstered in Merino leather and Alcantara, along with an Alcantara-wrapped M Sports steering wheel.

It’s not a completely stripped out go-fast car, like the GTS. It’s fitted out with climate-controlled air conditioning, BMW’s HiFi Professional sound system and its Professional navigation unit, along with optional adaptive LED headlights. It can also hook up to BMW’s Laptimer app.