5 Supercars The 2025 BMW M4 CS Beats Around The Nürburgring

The all-new BMW M4 CS is a more hardcore version of the famous performance coupe that slots between the M4 Competition and the ultra-lightweight and extremely rare M4 CSL, unveiled today with some impressive stats to its name, including an impressive Nurburgring lap. The M4 CSL set an impressive time of 7:18.137 around the Green Hell; that model is as hardcore as the M4 gets, as BMW even removes the rear seats, leaving a nice place to store helmets. But the M4 CS doesn’t go that far, and still leaves enough room in the rear for passengers. Compared to the standard M4 Competition with M xDrive, it only saves 45 pounds, but BMW made enough enhancements to ensure that the CS can complete a lap of the Nürburgring in 7:21.99.

2025 BMW M4 CS

Base MSRP

$123,500

Engine

3.0L Twin-Turbo Inline-6 Gas

Horsepower

543 hp

Torque

479 lb-ft

Top Speed

188 mph

0-60 MPH

3.2 Seconds

Transmission

8-Speed Automatic

Drivetrain

All-Wheel Drive

That’s a mere 3.8 seconds behind the CSL, which is the difference between a perfect lap and one poorly timed corner exit. If you take both cars to a local track day, the difference would 100% come down to the talent of the driver.

To demonstrate just how far the M4 has come as a performance coupe, we had a browse through the times set by various stupidly fast machines over the same 12.9-mile circuit. Below, you’ll find a mix of old and new, but they all have one thing in common: no matter how prestigious they are, the stopwatch proves that they’re slower than the M4 CS – a series production BMW with four seats, climate control, and most of the mod-cons you could want.

5

2002 Ferrari Enzo – 7.25.21

The Ferrari Enzo is officially old enough to order a drink, but if you look at the spec box above, you wouldn’t think that a series-production BMW M4 would be able to beat it. Ferrari’s noughties halo car beats the Bimmer in every metric that matters. You’d think with a 221 mph top speed, the Enzo would simply walk away from the M4 CS on the Nürburgring’s long straights. The Enzo was also the first production Ferrari equipped with carbon-ceramic brake discs, so it has potent stopping power, too.

Carbon-ceramic brakes are an optional extra on the M4 CS, and it’s a box 99.9% of owners will tick. If you’re already spending $123,500 on a car, you might as well add another $10,000 for the best brakes. We think it’s the additional grip provided by BMW’s magical M xDrive system, the mid-range punch of turbocharging, and modern tire technology that saw the car just walking away from a car that’s so good, Ferrari put its founder’s name on the rear. The xDrive simply yanks the M4 CS out of the ‘Ring’s 154 corners, while the S58 engine gets it from 50 to 75 mph in 2.6 seconds in fourth gear. That’s some serious pulling power.

4

Tesla Model S Plaid With Track Pack – 7.25:23

The Model S Plaid is the closest thing the M4 CS has to a rival, at least on this list. It retails for $82,000, but, unfortunately, you can no longer order it with the $20,000 Track Package. Oddly, you can still purchase it on the Tesla App, but you’ll definitely have to take the EV to a dealer because the package’s features can’t be sent via an over-the-air update. In return for $20k, you get forged aluminum wheels, carbon-ceramic brakes, and Goodyear high-performance tires. Does that make the Plaid a supercar? We don’t think so, but many of our EV-friendly readers think it qualifies based on power output.

Having nearly double the power output and torque of the M4 CS, you’d expect this car to simply hurl itself into the distance, making the Bimmer look like it’s searching for parking. But the biggest factor here is weight, which is impossible to disguise on a track. The M4 CS weighs 45 lbs less than the 3,979-pound M4 Competition xDrive, which works out at 3,934 lbs. That means the Plaid is 832 lbs heavier, which is two fully-grown male llamas.

3

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series – 7.25:67

The standard Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was built for fun, while the Black Series was built for track duty. To make the SLS less prone to sideways action, AMG made so many changes to the beloved 6.2-liter naturally aspirated engine that one might even be tempted to give it another engine code. AMG also equipped it with a full titanium exhaust, a fixed carbon fiber splitter, and a carbon fiber spoiler and Gurney flap at the rear. The standard hood was also replaced with a carbon fiber unit, while the brakes were upgraded to carbon-ceramic units.

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Despite the 39-hp increase, the SLS Black was less resistant to oversteer thanks to a lower torque figure that only arrived 1,000 rpm later than in the standard car. The Black was also equipped with ultra-sticky Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and a standard coil-over suspension with only two driving modes: Sport or Sport +. The Black was built for serious drivers, and you can see it reflected in the Nürburgring lap time above. The standard SLS recorded a time of 7.56:23, which is slower than a few front-wheel drive hot hatches.

The difference in time here is additional grip. There’s only so much you can do with a rear-wheel drive car, which is why BMW likely opted to retain the M xDrive system for the CS instead of ripping it out to save another few pounds.

2

KTM X-Bow RR – 7:25.72

We’re quite surprised that a luxury coupe with a touchscreen interface and climate control managed to beat this carbon tub with four wheels, two seats, and a VW 2.0-liter turbocharged engine bolted to it. We drove this around the Red Bull Ring in Austria, and it’s hard to believe that any production car is faster. Admittedly, the car we drove was on racing slicks, while the car KTM used was on road-legal rubber.

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The main problem here is that the KTM was built for short tracks. It doesn’t slip through the air as effectively as a tin-top, which is why most of these track day specials have a relatively low top speed. Even the Ariel Atom V8, which has a 500-hp V8 and weighs less than an ant, can only reach 168 mph.

1

Pagani Zonda F Clubsport – 7:27.82

The Zonda F was named after Juan Manuel Fangio, so you’d expect it to be more hardcore than the Zonda S and Zonda C12. Pagani took AMG’s 7.3-liter naturally aspirated V12 and upgraded the manifolds, exhaust, and ECU. This gave the car a healthy bump in power and increased the top speed to 214 mph. Pagani also tweaked the aerodynamics and gave customers the option of opting for carbon-ceramic brakes developed with Brembo.

The Zonda F was the fastest Pagani around the Nürburgring until the Zonda R arrived a few years later. The latter was not road-legal, so it set a blistering time of 6:47. That just shows you how much of a difference it makes if you don’t have to play by the government’s rules. The Zonda F is here because it shines a light on the M4 CS as a value proposition. It’s estimated that a Zonda F costs around $15 million these days, and you’re going to be deeply annoyed when a $125k Bimmer flies by you on the ‘Ring.