BMW M4 CS launched: softer GTS headed for Spanish market

BMW has launched a new four-seat version of its M4 GTS that’ll be sold exclusively to the Spanish market as the M4 CS.

The car maker describes the model as a ‘more civilised’ version of its 493bhp BMW M4 range-topper. The CS will still be able to handle track work, and production will be limted to just 60 examples.

454bhp BMW M4 CS makes Shanghai motor show debut

Figures are yet to be released, but the CS’s positioning as a halfway-house between the regular M4 and the full-blown GTS suggest that its twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six engine could produce something in the region of 450bhp.

The CS will use BMW’s familiar seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and gets carbon-ceramic brakes, a rear wing and carbonfibre body trim. To make it more versatile than the GTS, it ditches a half roll cage in favour of a pair of rear seats.

The chassis comes with BMW’s adaptive M system as standard and the car rides on 20inch wheels, which appear to have a near identical design to those on the GTS.

So far BMW has only revealed the new car’s top speed, which, at 174mph, is 16mph slower than that of the GTS, but it’s also safe to assume that it will be slightly less accelerative. A 0-62mph time of about four seconds seems likely.

The M4 CS is a Spain-only model so it won’t be coming to the UK. But if you live in Spain and want one, order books are due to open before the middle of the year, in which time full pricing and specifications will be released.

The CS name was last used by BMW with the E46 BMW M3 CS, which, like the M4 CS, was a softened version of a more hardcore model, the M3 CSL. That car is often hailed as the ultimate E46 M3 thanks to its 'best of both worlds' features. The very limited production numbers for the new M4 CS could earn it a similar tagline in the future.