BMW brass has announced there will not be a lightweight CSL version of the new M3 sedan and M4 coupe. Today is ruined!
Wait… That’s because the German company has already made its new M models CSL-lean? Whew!
Matt Collins, a BMW product manager, confirms it: “We’ve made them as light as possible – they come in under 1500kgs [3,307 pounds], which for a car like this is incredible.” The fact that the 2014 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG coupe has a curb weight of 3,816 pounds makes that even better news.
But that’s not all.
With 431 brake horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque from BMW’s S55 twin-turbo 3-liter I6, the M3 and the M4 (with the DCT tranny) “are the quickest production cars BMW currently makes.” Sixty-two miles per hour passes in 4.1 seconds, a faster time than those of the M5 and the M6. That ought to dry those tears that were welling up at the beginning of this post.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
