While you could be easily fooled into thinking the BMW M4 CSL is nothing more than a regular M4 with some sporty new parts, it’s actually a seriously impressive performance machine capable of lapping a racetrack at a frightening pace. Case in point, Sport Auto’s recent test of the car around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
The German publication tested out the car as part of its Supertest in October last year with Christian Gebhardt behind the wheel. He managed to lap the 12.8-mile (20.6 km) configuration of the famous racetrack in just 7:17.08.
To put that time into perspective, BMW’s own Jörg Weidinger set a production car record for the brand when he lapped the ‘Ring in the M4 CSL in 7:15.677 last year.
Watch: See The New M4 CSL Become The Fastest BMW At The Nürburgring
While watching Gebhardt’s lap of the circuit, it’s hard not to be impressed with the corner speed he is able to carry with the M4 CSL as well as the seemingly never-ending confidence he has in the grip offered up by the car and its Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires. One small mistake at the sort of speeds he was carrying across the track would be disastrous but to get a good lap time like this you really have to push a car to its absolute limits.
Making the M4 CSL special is the fact that it rocks a tuned version of the carmaker’s beloved 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six pumping out 543 hp and 479 lb-ft (649 Nm) of torque. This grunt is sent exclusively through the rear wheels. BMW has also saved 240 lbs (109 kg) over the standard car, allowing it to hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.6 seconds and reach a 191 mph (307 km/h) top speed.