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BMW M4 CSL holds fastest production lap of Nürburgring Nordschleife
BMW's M4 CSL remains the quickest production BMW around the Nordschleife at 7:18.137, with the M2 CS, M3 CS and M3 CS Touring following closely behind.
By George Kensington · 3 min read
BMW's M4 CSL still holds the official record as the fastest production BMW around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with a full-length lap of 7:18.137. The car set that time in 2023, beating its own 2022 benchmark of 7:20.207 and placing BMW at the head of a close field of performance models on the 20.832-kilometre circuit.
Behind the M4 CSL, the M4 CS posted 7:21.989 with roughly 550 horsepower. The M2 CS, set by BMW engineer Jörg Weidinger in April 2025, completed the lap in 7:25.534, beating the previous M2 record by more than 13 seconds. The M3 CS sedan recorded 7:28.760 in 2023, while the M3 CS Touring, the fastest wagon to have run the Ring, clocked 7:29.490, trailing the sedan by 0.73 seconds.
The results are notable when set against rival estate and saloon models. The best published lap for the Mercedes-Benz AMG E63 stands at 7:45. Audi's latest RS6 wagon has no published time, while the previous-generation RS6 estate ran 8:05. On the evidence of the published figures, the M3 CS Touring sits well ahead of the nearest competitor with a verified time.
Weight reduction has played a significant part in the figures. The M4 CSL weighs about 240 pounds less than the standard G82 M4, and the M4 CS about 77 pounds less than the standard M4. The difference is clear in the results: the standard G87 M2 ran 7:38.706, roughly 13 seconds slower than the M2 CS, and the previous-generation M4 was about 20 seconds slower than the current G82.
Comparisons should be read with the measurement caveats in mind. Some publications time laps on a shorter 20.6-kilometre layout that omits 232 metres near the T13 grandstand, and those figures are not official. Sport auto recorded the M4 CSL at 7:17.08 on that shorter course, while BMW's own run on the same layout produced 7:13.497. Those numbers cannot be directly compared with the full-length official times.
One question remains open. It is not yet clear whether BMW will test a manual-only M3 CS Handschalter, and any such car would be expected to run slightly slower than the dual-clutch version. That expectation has not been verified, and until a result is published the M3 CS Touring and the M4 CSL remain the benchmarks to beat on the Nordschleife.
Source: bmwblog.com
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