Too Much of a Good Thing
Car and Driver|April 2023
Highs: Crushing top-end acceleration, awesome on the track, grip for days. Lows: Intolerable seats, tiresome on-road ride, steering has mind of its own.
DAN EDMUNDS
Too Much of a Good Thing

One tour around the BMW M4 CSL is all you need to size it up. With its Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, prominent ducktail spoiler, and deep front splitter, the CSL is clearly a track-focused thoroughbred. That impression continues inside, with an empty space where the rear seat used to be and standard carbon-fiber front buckets that scoot fore and aft but require an allen wrench for any angular or height adjustments. Lift the hood and you'll realize it's an immaculately built hunk of carbon fiber (as is the trunk), with stripes on top that are merely unpainted swaths that show through. A plastic engine cover blocks your view of the 543-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, but the exquisite birdcage brace that connects the radiator core support, strut towers, and firewall is worth its own Instagram post.

This story is from the April 2023 edition of Car and Driver.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the April 2023 edition of Car and Driver.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CAR AND DRIVERView All
Great Aspirations
Car and Driver

Great Aspirations

Highs: Excellent fuel economy, good controls, quiet on the highway. Lows: Bigger outside than inside, just-average dynamics, premium pricing.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
Treading Water
Car and Driver

Treading Water

Highs: Sharper styling, big new touchscreen, solid electric range. Lows: No all-wheel drive, steep pricing, rivals are quicker.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
Higher-Purpose Hybrid
Car and Driver

Higher-Purpose Hybrid

Forget electric range. This plug-in hybrid delivers 791 horsepower.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
1979-93 - WHAT TO BUY: SAAB 900
Car and Driver

1979-93 - WHAT TO BUY: SAAB 900

Echoing the design of the long-running 99 that preceded it, the updated and modernized Saab 900 was the car that brought the fringe Swedish brand into its closest proximity to the mainstream, which honestly wasn't that close.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
12-Cylinder Salute
Car and Driver

12-Cylinder Salute

Bentley makes 18 Continental GT-based Baturs as a send-off for its W-12.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2023
How to Winch in a Pinch
Car and Driver

How to Winch in a Pinch

We head out into the Utah wilderness with the Cameron Advanced Mobility team to learn to off-road like military special forces.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2023
Time Machines
Car and Driver

Time Machines

A trip to Duncan Imports prompts an unexpected rendezvous with cars from my past. And want them all back. Well, except maybe the Ram.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2023
Now Hear This
Car and Driver

Now Hear This

Automakers are going to new lengths to create the sounds of modern cars.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
Getting Hammered
Car and Driver

Getting Hammered

Jonathan Hodgman isn't afraid of a challenge, and his shop, Blue Ridge Mercedes, specializes in the difficult task of repairing early AMGS.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2023
2022 GENESIS GV70
Car and Driver

2022 GENESIS GV70

Long-Term Test AFTER TRACKING EVERY FILL-UP, SERVICE, PROBLEM, COMPLAINT, DENT, AND DOG HAIR, CAR AND DRIVER PRESENTS THE 40,000-MILE EVALUATION.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2023