The most hardcore G80 M3 yet will finally break cover this month.
It's finally official: the first G80 BMW M3 special edition will be known as the M3 CS, and it will arrive on the final weekend of this month (28 and 29 January), making its world debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona. The launch of BMW's specially adapted M3 could not occur in a more perfect setting, as BMW M will make its World Endurance Championship comeback on the same weekend with the M Hybrid V8. The GTP-class hypercar will feature in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year, as well as in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Le Mans.
But let's get back to the car at hand, the Competition Sport version of the current M3.
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According to internal documents leaked late last year, the S58 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six under the hood of the M3 CS will produce 543 horsepower, the same amount of grunt you get in the limited-run M4 CSL. Unlike the M4 CSL, the M3 CS appears to be getting BMW M xDrive all-wheel drive, a switchable system that adds weight but allows the driver to alternate between maximum traction and tail-out RWD antics.
We don't yet know how many units of the M3 CS will be built, but we expect production to be limited, albeit not as limited as the 1,000-unit allocation for the M4 CSL.
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We also know that a titanium rear silencer will feature, along with a set of CSL-like front grilles and a beefy front spoiler. Inside, those nut-gnashing bucket seats will appear in the front row, but spy shots suggest that the latest version of iDrive, with its curved display, will not feature. Again, this is the same story as the CSL.
The F80-generation M3 CS had OLED taillights copied from the F82 M4 GTS and M4 CS, so it stands to reason that BMW may give the G80 CS the same filigree laser light thread design and construction that the G82 CSL features.
Whatever the truth of the matter, at least we only have a little more than a fortnight before BMW unveils the hottest M3 to date in all its glory.
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Keyword: New BMW M3 CS To Debut At Daytona 24 Hour