WhichCar
wheels

Digital or Analogue: BMW M4 vs M3 CSL

Alex Inwood is a young gun who reckons turbos rock. Ponchard's from the old school where purity rules. So who better to debate the merits of BMW's finest M performance cars past and present?

M3 CSL vs BMW M4
Gallery2

THE IDEA was as simple as it was brilliant. Grab one of the purest M cars BMW ever made, a 2003 M3 CSL, and throw it head to head with its newest descendent, the turbocharged M4.

The task: find out which is best.

BMW M4
On paper, it’s a walkover for the M4. The modern car is safer, more comfortable and light-years ahead for speed thanks to its 317kW/550Nm twin-turbo straight six. But numbers aren’t everything.

The M3 CSL has sweetness, playfulness and predictability the M4 just can’t replicate. And then there’s the noise it makes. The M4 can only dream of such raspy, high-pitched goodness.

BMW M3 CSL
So it’s digital v analogue. New v old on the road and the track. Watch the video to see which one wins, and tell us which one you’d prefer in the comments below.

COMMENTS

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.