I’ve at all times believed that the most effective BMWs aren’t essentially essentially the most highly effective or the most costly. They’re those that really feel uncooked, related, and unapologetically centered. Automobiles that talk to your instincts, not your spreadsheet. That’s most likely why I nonetheless suppose the BMW 1M is among the finest M automobiles ever made. I’ve owned a 1M for years now. It’s loud, twitchy, a little bit of a handful—and completely good. It doesn’t have fancy suspension tech or carbon fiber overload. It’s simply brief, large, handbook, rear-wheel drive, and light-weight. That final half’s key. At round 3,250 kilos, it weighs practically 500 lbs lower than the brand new M2 CS, so in some ways, the 1M already suits the spirit of a CSL. Perhaps not formally, however emotionally? Completely.
That’s why I can’t assist however ask: Ought to BMW lastly make an M2 CSL?
A Lighter, Meaner M2? Sure, Please
BMW launched the second-gen M2 slightly over two years in the past. Since then, it’s steadily sharpened the automotive—first with a 20-horsepower bump in 2024, and most just lately with the M2 CS, which provides much more energy and drops round 90 kilos (a minimum of in U.S. spec). It’s sensible—but in addition costly. With choices, the CS creeps over six figures. And nonetheless, I can’t assist however suppose there’s yet another evolution left within the tank.
A CSL.
If BMW’s critical about constructing a last-of-its-kind, pure combustion driver’s automotive, the G87 is the proper platform. It already has the wide-track stance, the S58 engine with ample tuning headroom, and a loyal following of householders and future collectors. A CSL model might push it even additional—pulling rear seats, trimming fats wherever doable, and dialing within the type of dealing with that makes you sweat slightly on nook exit.
How BMW Already Teased Us With One
Let’s not neglect—BMW already made an M2 CSL. Not on the market, however for inner debate. When the F87 era was winding down, BMW M constructed two prototypes: an M2 CS, and a extra excessive M2 CSL. The CS received out, however the CSL mule was wild—fastened rear wing, roll cage, 3D-printed aero brackets that regarded like one thing grown in a lab. It even stored the outdated N55 engine, as a result of it was only a demo automotive. But it surely confirmed that BMW was desirous about it.
That prototype nonetheless haunts me. As a result of it exhibits that someplace, buried in a folder in Munich, there’s a blueprint for the proper compact M automotive. All it wants is a inexperienced gentle.
What a Fashionable M2 CSL Would possibly Look Like
Let’s think about it for a second. A G87 CSL with no rear seats. Carbon roof, carbon hood, single-piece bucket seats, no touchscreen gimmicks—simply focus. Drop one other 100 kilos off the CS, perhaps much more. Increase the S58 to 543 horsepower, matching the M4 CSL. Keep on with rear-wheel drive—no xDrive wanted—and sure, as a lot because it pains me to say it, ditch the handbook. Not as a result of I need to, however as a result of the 6-speed merely can’t deal with that type of output.
It will be brutal. Costly, too—most likely near $130,000. However in an period the place the typical luxurious EV is pushing $90K and efficiency SUVs weigh practically 6,000 kilos, perhaps that’s precisely what we want: a swan track for the small, savage BMW.
I maintain my 1M not as a result of it’s quick, however as a result of it feels quick. It’s gentle. It’s alive. And in a manner, it’s already the CSL that BMW by no means constructed. That automotive jogs my memory day by day what makes BMW M particular when it’s at its finest. The G87 M2 CS is shut. However I believe a CSL would go additional, each actually and spiritually. It will be a last celebration of all the pieces we’ve cherished about gas-powered M automobiles—earlier than the principles, regulators, and actuality pull us into an electrical future.
So sure—BMW ought to make an M2 CSL.
