What Does CS & CSL Stand For On A BMW

There are a few categories across the range of BMW performance vehicles. Most of you may be familiar with the base M badge, representing the high-performance version of each BMW model, with examples like the M3 and M4. BMW takes that a step further with their M Competition range, increasing power and adding extra features. But what about the next level – the CS and CSL models?

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BMW CS and CSL

The CS and CSL badges are reserved for the very best versions of M cars. They are rarely used (only a handful of CSL models have ever been released) and are produced in limited numbers.

Usually, a car’s CS and CSL versions are released at the end of the model life as a ‘parting gift’ to that generation of vehicles. But what does each badge stand for?

The CS Badge

CS stands for Club Sport. That might sound intriguing, but what that means isn’t immediately apparent to most of us, so let’s run through some changes BMW makes when they launch a CS version.

The focus of a CS model is to increase power, improve performance parts (such as suspension and steering) and reduce weight. Let’s take a recent model, the BMW M5 CS, and compare it against the lower-spec M5 Competition.

	M5 Competition	M5 CS
Horsepower – BHP	625	635
Torque- Nm	750	750
0 to 60 mph – seconds	3.3	3.0
Weight – kg	1,990	1,825
Starting Price	$111,000 / £107,000	$142,000 / £140,000

The price difference is the first thing you will probably notice. For all the technical improvements (over 100kg lighter), there is a $30,000 difference in the cost. And this is the same with almost every recent CS model – so why would you buy one?

The number one reason is exclusivity. CS badges represent a very ‘elite’ club of vehicles for BMW owners, showing that you value driving pleasure and performance above all else. And that you have a large wallet. Because with a CS model, that weight saving mostly comes from excessive carbon fiber, replacing interior and exterior parts – and that doesn’t come cheap. You also lose some basic features like a full armrest (more on this when we look at the CSL), but otherwise, the CS models are still cars you can live with every day.

Let’s say you’ve decided to go for it – you want to buy a CS. Ignoring the fact that getting hold of one is almost impossible as they are usually sold out well in advance. So you have your CS, you want to test its limits, so you head to a local racetrack. Right now, you’ll be thinking, ‘I’m going to rule this place’ and to be fair, there aren’t many cars that will match a CS’s performance. Until you see someone else has arrived in a BMW with a slightly different badge…

The CSL Badge

If you are rich and mad enough to buy a CS, I’m not sure what you have to be to own a CSL. The CSL badge adds an extra ‘Lightweight’ to the CS name, so the difference is pretty straightforward. But it’s a little more complex than that.

The CSL badge is one of the rarest in the history of BMW. In fact, it’s only been applied to three models, with one being considered the greatest-performance BMW of all time, the E46 M3 CSL. And recently, BMW announced a new M4 CSL coming very soon.

So immediately, we are in a new realm of exclusivity. But what does extra lightweighting mean? Well, the most noticeable difference you’ll see is that where a regular M car would have rear seats, these are gone, and it doesn’t stop there. Like the CS models, you get an incredible amount of carbon fiber. With the new M4 CSL, BMW has redesigned the seats, lights, and grille to save weight.

Performance-wise the new M4 CSL is a considerable step up from the current M4 Competition, but that’s expected with those changes. But why have two different badges? Why not just call this a CS model?

It comes down to how rare these models are. The new M4 CSL will have a total production volume of 1,000 cars worldwide – and if the current price of the previous CSL model is anything to go by, these cars will appreciate rapidly, making them a target for car collectors and investors.

Why should we care about CS and CSL?

To sum it up, the CS and CSL badges might seem like a way for BMW to cash in on wealthy enthusiasts looking for the most exclusive toy they can buy. And part of that is true. But these cars represent something else.

Each CS or CSL model release is a milestone for both BMW and the automotive world. BMW isn’t perfect as a vehicle manufacturer. Still, they have a reasonably excellent track record in performance engineering, with the CS and CSL badges representing the peak of that performance.