BMW had a golden year in 2021, setting another record for sales, selling 2.2 million cars and SUVs worldwide, up 9.1 percent from 2020. Obviously, the stressful economic situation and chip shortage have not stopped the world from buying BMW cars, and 2022 BMW will be the anniversary of the M department, so there will be more powerful models released.
In BMW's press release about its record sales year, it briefly mentioned the future "exclusive special edition model based on the new BMW M4 Coupe". It's a short trailer, but it's significant, as it's the first time BMW has officially acknowledged that a special version of the M4 derivative is coming soon.
Officially, the name of the new car is not recognized as the M4 CSL, but we have seen many spy photos of the test car, which has a radical front trim panel, a new side skirt and a ducktail spoiler. The spoiler is very similar to the 2004 E46 M3 CSL, so while this "special edition model" is still not officially confirmed for the new version, it is likely to be broadly consistent with what we thought.
For the M4 CSL model, which is not officially recognized, the new car will carry more carbon fiber parts to reduce the weight of the car, and will also use better suspension for better track performance. This twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine may have up to 550 horsepower (410 kW) of power, delivered to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Rumor has it that the M4 CSL will debut in the summer of 2022, and with BMW officially acknowledging that something special will happen this year, the expected production may be only 1,000 units, which is very limited and extremely collectible.