I’m not mad, just disappointed. Somebody with a very nice BMW M4, which sure looks like a low-production CSL, made two spectacularly unfortunate decisions in a row. First, they used this triumph of engineering for childish backroad drag racing like it’s 2002. Then they locked up the brakes after losing traction and the M4 became an M Tree.
Looking at the cockpit and windshield in this aftermath clip, it seems that the hapless pilot would have walked away. But with multiple airbag deployments and body damage throughout, I have a feeling that the car’s going to be a write-off.
I know the internet’s instinct is always to point and laugh, but actually, I feel bad for whoever was driving this. Fucking up never feels good, and we all make mistakes. That said: Street racing is one mistake we can all avoid very easily. And if you can afford a new M4, you should be able to splurge on track days which are much safer, more socially acceptable, and I promise, much more fun than wasting rubber on some office park access road.
This clip from “Vice City Nightcrawler” doesn’t share a specific location, but of course “604” (in the IG handle of the post-crash clip) is British Columbia. Vancouver is a hotbed for high-end vehicles, so that’s probably about where this went down.
Grainey clips of shenanigans like this float around the internet all the time, but what caught our attention here is the fact that the Bimmer looks like the mighty M4 CSL. The bumper’s pretty much the same as a standard M4, and the red decorative trim is hard to make out, but in a brief flash of that drag racing shot I think I can spot the CSL’s signature yellow LED headlight accents.
Other CSL-specific features are a little ducktail spoiler and a front lip. Though we can’t really see the rear emblem, those tracer lines in the taillights are unique to this model and convince me that this is indeed a CSL.
What makes the CSL so special is a litany of lightweight features and some extra oomph. As the fastest production roadgoing BMW around the Nürburgring, it’s a serious track machine. The 3.0-liter BMW M TwinPower Turbo inline-six is tuned to 543 horsepower, suspension tuning is unique and 8mm lower than an M4 Comp, and curb weight is cut by 240 pounds.
These were listed for about $140,000 when they were new last year. But what makes them hard to get is their rarity—just 1,000 units were slated for worldwide production. Now there might only be 999 on the road.
If you’re near British Columbia, I’d keep an eye on salvage auctions and junkyards. Might be your only chance to score some epic CSL parts. Just, please, do the world a favor and use them on the track instead of some dark road.
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