derBayerische July/August 2024 - 27

T H E
W
M 4
ho would have guessed that purchasing a new BMW 320i in 1982
would have led to a love affair with the brand, long-lasting friendships,
and eventually the purchase of a one-year-only limitedproduction
2023 M4 CSL? Doug Verner may have grown up a Mopar guy in
a Volkswagen family, but that all changed with his first BMW, a white-over-tan
E21, in the early 1980s-and joining BMW CCA, of course.
After a brief stint with the Tejas Chapter, Verner relocated to the DMV area
and became a member of the National Capital Chapter in 1983. In the early
2000s, he became an active volunteer, developing the M Club Days program,
which he has run for the last 22 years, and also serving for a decade as NCC's
HPDE registrar. Verner says, " It's fun getting involved. I've met hundreds, if
not thousands, of people through the Club and I consider
most of them friends. " With a passion for M cars,
tons of on-track driving experience, and relationships
forged within BMW CCA and the BMW Performance
Center, Verner eats, sleeps, and breathes both CCA
and M.
The M4 CSL came onto Verner's radar while
having lunch with friends at the BMW Performance
Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He heard
rumblings of a " top-secret " M4 that had been recently
shown to BMW executives, prior to its official debut at the 2022 Concorso
d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. It was a low-production model with only 1,000 units
being made worldwide, and only 250 of those coming to the U.S. Being no
stranger to special M cars, with a Z3 M Coupe, M2 CS, E46 M3, and X3 M40i
already in his stable, Verner's interest was piqued. He called a dealer contact
and was given an allocation-until he wasn't. The dealer backed out late in the
game, and with the M4 CSL already announced, all of the other allocations
were gone.
Verner spent months searching for another M4 CSL until a friend and felC
S L
Carbon Bucket Seats it was just what Verner wanted-at MSRP no less, where
others were sold with a substantial markup. Wah offered his allocation to
Verner and he graciously accepted. The icing on the cake was a Performance
Center delivery. It's possibly the only M4 CSL to be ordered with a
Performance Center delivery in the U.S. and Verner credits friends Mike Renner
and Clint Kimel, Jr. for their efforts, saying, " Mike and Clint were instrumental
in getting it to the Performance Center and delivered to me. "
Since taking delivery, Verner has been very happy with his M4 CSL,
which lives up to its " Coupe, Sport, Lightweight " badging. A 3.0-liter inlinesix
cylinder engine delivers 543 horsepower and 479 pound-feet-40 more
horsepower than the M4 Competition thanks to maximum turbo boost being
raised from 24.7 psi to 30.5 psi. The results of the S58
engine's combustion exit through a model-specific
titanium exhaust.
The CSL's suspension is also model-specific, with
■ Three letters make all the difference.
an 8mm lower ride height and the use of monoball joints
(instead of rubber bushings) in the rear suspension for
sharper, more precise handling. With standard carbon
brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, the M4
CSL is a precision instrument.
And then there's the weight. Carbon fiber is used
extensively front to rear, comprising the hood, CSL-specific front splitter, roof,
side mirrors, CSL-specific duck-tail trunk lid, rear splitter, and interior trim.
The trunk is bare, without a floor mat or rear-seat trim. Lightweight manualadjustment
M Carbon Bucket seats replace heavy electric counterparts, and the
rear-seat, center console, and floor mats have been removed to further shed
pounds.
By now we know that BMW's published specs tend to be on the conserlow
CCA Member Mike Wah reached out. Wah had an M4 CSL allocation in
Launch Package spec, at BMW of Wyoming Valley in Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania. In Frozen Brooklyn Grey paint with one-piece fixed-back M
■ You can't help but smile with an M4 CSL in your garage.
vative side of reality. Case in point: BMW claims a 240-pound weight reduction
over the M4 Competition, but MotorTrend weighed the limited-edition CSL
at 3,590 pounds--that's quite a bit less, and less is more in this case!
Additionally, M4 CSLs on independent dynos have been making close to 600
horsepower, much more than the advertised 543. BMW claims a 0-60 sprint of
July I August 2024
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derBayerische July/August 2024

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