BMW is seriously on fire. Not only does the German automaker never disappoint in delivering the sort of cars that we have always liked to see and expect, but every once in a while it throws an unexpected curveball that makes us take extra special notice.
That’s what the M4 GTS is. It’s a pretty bold statement from a manufacturer like BMW; the colouring alone and the choice of wheels is something that many people wouldn’t have expected. But if this doesn’t show us that BMW and its M division is on par with modern trends and tastes, I don’t know what would.
So I was very happy to see that BMW brought the M4 GTS to the Tokyo Motor Show so it could be admired by the Japanese public. And it’s this public who every year continue to buy more and more BMW cars, be them diesel-powered station wagons all the way up to the hottest performance variants.
The GTS is a 500hp circuit-oriented special for those that demand a little bit more. If you’re into tracking your car and you think the stock M4 is a little soft, this is the car that BMW is proposing for you. The wheels are one of the most visually distinctive additions to the car; a polished star-spoke design painted inside with the same Acid Orange used on the front splitter and in the cabin.
And that carbon fiber front splitter is actually adjustable.
While the stock M4 gets a carbon fibre roof, the GTS also benefits from a lightweight carbon bonnet which is vented to help channel hot air that’s passed through the radiator away from the engine bay.
The show car was finished in Frozen Dark Grey Metallic, which really highlights all the lines of the F82.
The hike in power from the turbo straight six is mostly due to a factory water injection system fitted on the cold side of the charge cooler. As you can see above, there was a cut-out section on display so people could see how it works. This system basically increases knock protection while boost is upped, meaning the 500hp can be developed safely and without impacting the fuel consumption and low emissions the direct-injection motor is able to achieve.
My favourite angle of the GTS has to be the rear. Here we see a return to the E46 CSL like integrated trunk spoiler, and the world-first OLED tail lights will probably soon start making their way across the entire BMW range.
Using OLED technology means that the light is distributed more evenly across the lit-up surface, allowing designers to really play around with complete designs and the way each of the elements illuminates. The future is here!
Lots of testing at the Nürburgring, where the GTS clocked a 7-minute 28-second lap, dictated that the car receive a small carbon trunk spoiler to add a touch of downforce and help stabilise the rear end through the faster corners.
The interior is a very special place; you get to sit in hip-hugging carbon buckets (which weigh half of what a stock M4 seats do) and steer with the familiar thick-rimmed wheel that M cars are equipped with. The GTS is strictly a two-seater; the rear seats replaced by a GFRP panel upholstered in Alcantara. If you go for the optional Club Sport package, you also get a half rollcage colour-matched in the same Acid Orange as the rest of the accents.
Top job BMW – this is the sort of car we want to see!
Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com