BMW’s M cars are its sporting heroes—sharp, agile and powerful. But the Competition Sport versions sit a cut above. The latest effort from Bavaria is the 2025 BMW M4 CS, which naturally turns the wick up on an already fast coupe.
The real question, though, is whether a little extra moxie can help you fall in love with that face. The BMW M4 has polarizing looks, with the automaker pushing the classic kidney grille to hilarious proportions in recent years.
It’s the best M4 you can buy new today, so let’s dive in. What treats has BMW lavished upon us this time?
The New Special One
The CS gets a healthy power bump of 40 horsepower over the M4 Competition. The turbocharged 3.0-liter six now delivers 543 horsepower. Unchanged, however, is the peak output of 479 pound-feet of torque. The engine is paired with BMW’s M Steptronic 8-speed automatic gearbox, which sends drive to all four wheels.
If you want to get silly, you can even disable the DSC all together and configure the xDrive all-wheel-drive system to only send drive to the rear wheels. Then you can hang the tail out with abandon. If you’re more serious about going fast, though, be reassured that BMW has thrown all the technology it can at the M4 CS to help it fling around corners faster than the base model. Everything from the electronically controlled dampers, electric power steering, and Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) systems have been tuned to give the model an edge.
The model has also been lightened by some 77 pounds compared to the M4 Competition with M xDrive. The M4 CS features a carbon fiber roof, which not only sheds the pounds, but does so up high. The result is a lower center of gravity, which aids in handling and reduces body roll—not that the M4 suffered too badly in this regard, anyway. BMW didn’t stop there, though—the hood, front splitter, mirror caps, diffuser, and rear spoiler are all carbon fiber too. Some of these components make more of an impact than others.
Wheels, however, don’t go the composite route. Instead, BMW specced a nice set of forged alloy wheels in an exclusive design, which you can have in a matte gold bronze, or matte black. It wears a staggered setup, with 19-inch wheels up front and 20-inch wheels at the rear. Keep that in mind before you go doing a tire rotation.
Also exclusive are the two new paint finishes—Riviera Blue and Frozen Isle of Man Green metallic. However, BMW has thus far only provided images of the latter choice. It’s probably the pick of the two, anyway.
The model will nevertheless feature areas without paint to make sure everyone knows you have the CS model. A pair of stripes show off the carbon fiber of the hood, while the roof is similarly left bare. Naturally, there’s plenty of badging, too, as well as a special weight-saving kidney grille that BMW says is reminiscent of the M4 GT3 race cars.
BMW also included a neat touch for the lighting, too. Parts of the headlights glow yellow instead of white, mimicking the Signal Yellow units often seen on GT racing cars. It’s a minor thing, but it’ll give you something to talk about at Cars and Coffee. “See the headlights?” you’ll say. “They’ve got a little yellow bit. Exclusive to the CS model, you know.”
Also, it’s worth bringing up—don’t confuse the CS with the CSL. The latter is an even-more-exclusive set of letters that applies only to limited-edition lightweight models. BMW built just 1,000 examples of the M4 CSL, which was really just a darling for the Nürburgring.
More Is More Is More
It’s interesting to see how the BMW lineup has developed over the decades. Once upon a time, it had its base lineup. Higher first numbers denoted bigger cars that were more luxurious. Higher following numbers denoted submodels with bigger engines. Then, the M models came along, which represented the absolute pinnacle of performance.
Today, though, that’s not enough. You’ve got the 4 Series, and then the M4 for those who want the best in performance. Except, then there’s the M4 Competition if the basic M4 isn’t enough for you. Now the M4 CS sits another level above that.
This creates a problem for BMW, as it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate these models—particularly from a visual standpoint. Once upon a time, just an M badge was enough. But then the Competition model needed to be a bit more, and the M4 CS had to be even more than that.
The result is a car that really has to shout about what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I like the carbon fiber accouterments as much as anybody. It’s just a little jarring seeing that level of venting and bodywork on a car that isn’t a barebones, stripped-out track model.
The lipstick on the nostrils is a bit much, too. It was one thing when Volkswagen used this trick on the Mark 1 Golf GTI. It was a simple touch that elevated the sports model above the rest of the range. But here, it’s just more noise on an already cluttered design. It also draws attention to the vehicle’s most controversial styling feature.
I will say one thing, though. It really shows you that this is one vehicle that looks better with a front plate fitted. It helps cover those nostrils so they’re not so imposing. No more will young children flee your approaching BMW, terrified they’ll be sucked inside the engine bay by the almighty suck of the turbochargers.
In any case, BMW won’t find it too hard to sell a few of these. If you’ve got an M4 Competition, you’re probably going to want to trade up lest you be considered a lower-class member of your regional Beemer club. Take my advice—get the green one, it’s the choice of the bunch. Come back and let me know if the extra 40 horsepower makes all the difference on the highway onramp you use to commute to your successful dental practice.
Image credits: BMW
No.
But the wide European front license plate acting like a pseudo-divider can.
M4
M4C (competition)
M4CS
M4CSL
I see what BMW is doing here, but what comes after L? GT? Z? Turbo?
Now it not only has huge nostrils, all the spindly shit inside the nostrils makes it look like you’re staring up an old man’s nose.
And then a red ring around them making it looks they’ve been irritated by the old man shoving his dirty fingers up there all day…
Gross, stacked upon more gross. Cannot unsee.
Horrific. COTD for ruining my attempts to entertain this thing again. Like a cold shower.
The tiny little image beside the headline in my Feedly list makes it look like a Mustang. The back end throws the impression off, but the schnoz looks the part.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines
As a F33 4-series owner, I can say whole heartedly, no way. That grill is awful, and I find it funny that all the PR shots always use the euro plates to try to hide as much of it as possible.
That paint hue is nice though, but I think it would be classier metallic than flat. Flat/matte always looks like a 3rd owner after market paint/wrap job. But still, you could paint it in $100 bills and that face would still make it look cheap.
Nope.
Still like a beautiful person with a HUGE, gaudy-as-hell, bull-ring through the nostrils.
Maybe something you rent and flog, but nothing you want to wake up with each day.
It’s less offensive now. I still think it’d be excellent with the kidney grille or at least some mesh in front, but I’m not as annoyed about it as I was like when it was first introduced.
The “frozen” paint is flat-brim-and-Juul-cloud central though.
I see these around somewhat regularly and the massive grills have definitely grown on me. I still can’t stand the iX though.
Does more power make me forgive the schnoz?
In a word, nein!
I try to be careful not to complain about “cars these days” like an old man, but good god do I hate the trend to flat/matte paint and exposed carbon fiber.
It looks fake expensive, not classy.
Fake expensive is a plague on the automotive world. Will we ever be rid of it?
It’s especially bad here, on a car that actually is very expensive!
I hate flat paint so much.
I let mine go flat the natural way…15 years weather exposure with no garage. Roof and trunk lid on the wife’s ’07 Corolla are starting to look rough. Hood replaced in a deer strike and the vertical panels still hold a shine. The ’05 Acura MDX has better paint on the horizonal surfaces but some rust I’m keeping at bay (Pittsburgh road salt). The ’14 Camry is still holding up well.
Matte paint is the automotive equivalent of flashy Coach bags, it’s not really luxury, but its been marketed to the middle and upper middle class as a luxury for so long. People see it as a status symbol, and not for what it is; overpriced, mediocre quality with no practicality over the more standard options. I think Hyundai and Kia bringing matte paint onto family crossovers explains this point better than anything I can type up
That green with those wheels is a really, really nice combo.
Assuming that the pricing is at least as much, but much more likely higher on the BMW, this feller on the “closer to the AARP travel tour than the Warped Tour” would go with the Blackwing all day.
This Bimmer is too much, muchness.
I’m a long time BMW fan but I really can’t imagine buying an M car outside of a completely base M2 or a wildly depreciated M8 (they’re already in the 60s and at that price they’re mighty appealing). They’re too gaudy, too expensive, and if everything I’ve read is to be believed they’re not particularly engaging and take a very German (i.e. clinical and devoid of joy) approach to performance. The numbers are there in spades but the engagement and humor are not.
I actually think the M Lites are more appealing. I’d rather have an M340i over an M3 because it’s easier to live with, probably 90% as fast, gets exponentially better gas mileage, is cheaper, and more incognito. Plus if you really need 500 horsepower the B58 can be tuned to make it no problem.
Anyway, if I was dropping six figures on a coupe I’d buy an LC500 or 718 GTS. Not this abomination. If I want an expensive performance sedan I’d absolutely go Blackwing over anything German…and I’d even try to find a Lexus F over anything German too, because V8 go brrrrr and I’ll be able to keep it longer than a lease term.
The Venn diagram of AARP tour and Warped tour is inching ever closer to a circle
Very true. Or at least, the ratio of prescribed v. non-prescribed drugs consumed is practically a bullet point now.
I know the sales numbers don’t say it, but I certainly see fewer 4-series BMWs than I used to in my area.
And the nose is not improving with time. Those rims though, I’ll take a set of them on something else. And give me a glossy version of that paint on something else.
This was part of some sort of thread last week about BMW sales. So, for the past days I have been paying attention to every car in my pretty large neighborhood, the upscale hotel parking lot where I happened to be for dinner, and at the massive parking lot for the grocery store/strip mall, and the cars that pass by daily.
Out of roughly, let’s say, 6000 or so cars, I’ve seen exactly 2 Bimmers. It’s anecdotal an all, but this isn’t a poor area, and I was pretty surprised once I paid attention. I guess they are all in SC and the NE? They ain’t here, that’s for sure.
I still see plenty of BMWs, just not the models featuring the bucktooth front end. And when I see them, it is most likely a M3/M4 instead of a run of the mill 4-series. I guess some M buyers are sucking it up?
1). I will never get over the beaver teeth grille. It was an abomination when it launched and it remains an abomination today. I don’t necessarily find it as jarring today as I did back when I first saw it, but I still wouldn’t be caught dead in one. Its tailor made for the “no attention is bad attention” influencer/conspicuous consumption crowd.
2). Why would anyone buy an M4 over an M2? The M2 is cheaper, lighter (although still inexcusably portly), about the same size, has the same engine, and is a much more attractive car.
Still ugly, only now with even more overstyling and even more inflated price. I’m sure it’s an amazing car to drive (under warranty), but I certainly don’t like looking at it.
A guy in my neighborhood has a new M4 Competition and though I see it nearly daily, the styling has yet to grow on me at all. I think about the only credit I can give it is that it looks better at night…
No.
I’m sure it’s the best driving etc like all the other cs’s.
But the 5 series and the current x5 are the only good looking BMW’s ATM, inclusive of mini.
Still hideous, and these “frozen” paint finishes are going to look like shit in a few years’ time because you can’t really correct or restore satin paint without full-on repainting it.
The power bump isn’t worth it when you can buy a much better looking F80 M3 in damn near any color for half the money. A basic tune with a downpipe will get you more power than this new M4 CS, all while looking much more respectable and less like the local club promoter/coke dealer.
I remember when the M3 looked broadly similar to a 323i.
Also, exposed carbon fibre is tacky.
Frozen Isle of Man Green is absolutely stunning.
I took my Wife and her friend shopping for new cars this Saturday. They both want new luxury, her friend wanted fast, my Wife wanted a good safe SUV that was quicker than her ’08 Pontiac Torrent. Being a BMW owner and auto enthusiast I took them to the BMW dealer before the Mercedes one.
Her friend test drove and is tomorrow going to purchase a ’23 M3 Competition in Brooklyn Grey Metallic even though she wanted a fast SUV and drove an Audi SQ5 but absolutely fell in love with the customization. The shnoz doesn’t look as bad in person, and she didn’t even seem to give a shit at all. If I were in the financial position to do so, I would get a full on M car myself but the Competition? I gave the best rundown I could, I mean the resale value is going to be just fine on the super high end one. Have your mid-life kick-ass instead of crisis.
My Wife got a ’24 X3 30ix fully loaded in the SAME COLOR. So they have matching BMWs now, and are going to want lots of pictures and drone shots I’m sure.
I’ve passed the enthusiasm on, they’ve both rode in my 335ix GT and dig the layout and ride even in the ’14 era of not the best interior materials.
Obviously we didn’t make it to the Mercedes dealer.
“If you’ve got an M4 Competition, you’re probably going to want to trade up lest you be considered a lower-class member of your regional Beemer club.”
The local BMW motorcycle club would care less M4 Comp or CS…. Now that might matter for the bimmer club… Geez
the discussion inspired an updated topshot
I have no doubt it’s a blast to drive, but that visage is jarring
Those nostrils scream “I’ve had too much cocaine and I’M GOING BACK FOR MORE” but I didn’t want to put that in the headline
You should’ve used that in the headline. Wife is looking at me funny because I LOLd
I was going to be nice and describe it as an epic operatic scream of angst—but yours is way more accurate
The red nose rings and badge accents on a green car are so garish. Bronze finished accoutrement would be sooooooo much better looking.
And unironically more special too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines
Very fair. The nose is a no.
Haha, I hope you know I’m teasing BMW and not you. It’s just… It’s like when your favorite vidjagame is like “DON’T YOU LIKE HOW I’M COLORBLIND INACCESSIBLE” or “THOSE SHITTY/SEXIST/RACISTish JOKES SURE ARE A LAUGH AREN’T THEY” (I’m thinking of that stupid rick-and-morty guy’s FPS game)
For 45 minutes*, when I thought being an absolute dick to girls was the ultimate in suave heterosexuality, hell yeah. Isn’t being shitty SO HAWT?
But now? I’m smart, or at least smart-passing, enough to know that this was just some hyper-cynical thing to.. I dunno, get me to buy more Doritos and BMWs?
Friends, I’ll cop to it. I entirely bought an Xbox 360 on the premise of a Forza-M3 drifting in a commercial, and I’m not even ashamed. Trying to tell substantially older me that an BMW Mx can drift is not enough. Fix your face. I’m an adult, I’m aware of industrial design and UX. You can trick me some, you can appeal to my senses, but this is still two clapped-out German butt cheeks showing me things I never wanted to see.
*in real life it was much more than 45 minutes
Alright self, time to put a commenting-while-intoxicated interlock on things. Hand over your auth keys.
The perfect comment.
Nein, nyet and pretty much every iteration of ‘no.’ Honestly, my first response was ‘oh fuck no’ and then I thought about it again, and I’ve got a more measured response. No fucking way in hell.