Announced in May 2022 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of BMW’s M division, the M4 CSL pays homage to the 1973 BMW 3.0 CSL, celebrated for winning the European Touring Car Championship on its first attempt. Ever since, the CSL moniker—meaning “Competition, Sport, Lightweight”—has become an elite badge of honor, synonymous with the pinnacle of BMW performance. Only three BMW models have ever carried the hallowed CSL badge. The first in 1972 was purpose-built as a homologation car for BMW’s motorsport program. The second, debuted as a 2004 model and was an enhanced version of the type-E46 M3. The third is the 2023 M4 CSL, limited to just 1,000 units worldwide, 291 of which were allocated to North America. Essentially sold out from the moment it was announced, the M4 CSL was made available to only the most select and well-connected BMW clientele, many of whom no-doubt promptly cloistered them away in collections, as the pristine and highly prized example offered here was.

Compared to the regular M4 from which it evolved, the M4 CSL benefits from 240 pounds in weight reduction. This is thanks to the use of carbon fiber in the hood, roof, trunk lid, center console, and elsewhere, along with numerous other measures. Purpose-built carbon-fiber front seats shaved 59 pounds, while removing the rear seats saved another 46 pounds. A titanium muffler cut more than 10 pounds. The chassis features standard carbon-ceramic disc brakes, Adaptive M Suspension with electronically controlled dampers, electromechanical M Servotronic steering with a variable ratio, and specially tuned axle kinematics, wheel camber, dampers, auxiliary springs, and anti-roll bars.

The M4’s familiar twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine was also tuned for an additional 40 horsepower, elevating total output to a heady 543 horsepower in North American specification. Proving the impact of its many upgrades, the M4 CSL set the fastest lap of any series-production BMW at the infamous Nürburgring circuit in Germany with a time of 7:20.2.

The M4 CSL offered here is one of only 41 built for the Canadian market and presents in showroom condition having been fully wrapped in XPEL paint protection film from new and driven only 2,560 miles as of cataloguing time. It also retains some of its translucent blue protective wrapping installed from the factory on the door-sill guards, CSL seat badges, and left-foot dead pedal. Making it even more desirable, the car was specified from the factory with the model-specific, special-order Frozen Brooklyn Grey paint—a $4,500 option—and Black Alcantara and Full Merino Leather with red and grey contrast stitching and red accents on the interior. Notably, this is the same color scheme found on the show car BMW used for the model’s unveiling and press launch. Also included are factory M floor mats, specially secured by the car’s first and only private owner as, according to the consignor, BMW did not usually provide them for this model, ostensibly as a weight-saving measure.

With just 1,000 produced and being only the third BMW model ever to wear the vaunted CSL badge since its inception more than 50 years ago, the 2023 M4 CSL is an instant classic and will surely be ardently sought after by marque enthusiasts forevermore as the pinnacle of BMW performance from this era.