BMW M executives have hinted the German firm has plans to roll out at least one special-edition, motorsport-inspired model in 2022.
Responding to a question from CARmag.co.za during an online roundtable event, Hagen Franke, product manager for the new M3 and M4, suggested there was certainly “room” for such a model.
“There seems to be room for giving customers kind of half of that feeling for road-legal cars,” Franke said, after talking in-depth about the latest M4 GT3 customer race car.
Martin Schleypen, spokesperson for BMW M, hinted the special model would make its debut as part of the firm’s 50th birthday celebrations in 2022.
“Next year, in 2022, BMW M turns fifty years old. And maybe there will be one or the other birthday present we will give to you or ourselves,” Schleypen said.
Reports from earlier in 2021 claimed the Munich-based automaker would revive the CSL badge for use on the G82-generation M4, with the hardcore variant set to be offered in very limited numbers.
That report suggested the new M4 CSL would start rolling off the assembly line by July 2022, with its production run scheduled to be “very short”. Little else is known about the rumoured M4 CSL, though if the motorsport-inspired variant does indeed materialise we can expect the same sort of kit we saw on the F82-generation M4 GTS and M4 DTM Champion Edition.
That means there would likely be items such as a towering rear wing, a more prominent front lip, track-focused suspension, bespoke wheels, various weight-saving measures and perhaps even a roll cage in place of the rear seats.
