Extra power, carbon trimmings and DTM-inspired wheels are among the changes for the latest version of the iconic BMW M performance car
 
MUNICH, GERMANY
You might think of BMW’s M sub-brand as a company that’s almost never satisfied with the results of its work, continuously tinkering and adjusting and making improvements no matter how good its cars already are. You might also think of BMW M as a shrewd business, knowing that its customers would never resist snapping up a special edition made in limited numbers.

That brings us neatly to the M3 CS, a tinkered-with version of the company’s evergreen sports saloon, and the most powerful road-going M3 ever made. It’s based on the M3 Competition Package, a sort of upgrade pack that CarBuyer big boss Ju-Len said considerably sharpened up the occasionally wayward standard car.

The changes are admittedly minor, but they do add up. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six has had a small bump in power to 460hp (versus 450 for the Comp Pack and 430 for the base M3), which takes the 0-100km/h time to 3.9 seconds, 0.2 less than the regular car. Top speed is limited to 280km/h.

In addition, the car comes with the M Sports exhaust as standard, for a throatier soundtrack for your drive. Adaptive M suspension is also standard, but with slightly tweaked settings for the dampers compared to the Comp Pack to suit the new wheel/tyre package.

That comes in the form of new staggered rims (19” front/20” rear) with a unique design inspired by those found on BMW’s DTM (Deutsche Tourengwagen Masters) race car. They’re shod in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s, an aggressively sticky tyre best suited to trackday duties, but BMW will happily swap those out for some less manic Michelin Pilot Super Sports if you’re more worried for wet weather.

Apart from the wheels, the other way to tell apart a CS is from all the new carbonfibre body parts. These include a splitter under the front bumper, a diffuser on the rear bumper (identical to that on the monster M4 GTS), and a lip spoiler on the bootlid. There’s also a new carbonfibre bonnet, which BMW claims is 25 percent lighter than the regular car’s aluminium piece.

Inside the car there are body-hugging lightweight M Sports front seats, and the whole interior is dressed in two-tone leather and alcantara. Completing the whole ensemble is the CS logo etched onto the dashboard, and a bright red engine start button.

*Unfortunately, due to a limited production run of 1200 units worldwide, it’s not been confirmed if the M3 CS will be available in Singapore.

In other news, the M3 CS’s even harder-hitting brother, the 600hp M5, has just been launched in Singapore, at a price of $528,888. Read our review of it here, and find out how it can literally take your breath away.