2022 BMW M5 CS review: International first drive

It’s a common product strategy in the modern automotive business: when a sporting car gets long in the tooth and the base model is nearing a complete redesign, it’s time to debut the stonking model. In the majority of instances, the end result is predictable. Sure, the car’s quicker, perhaps a little louder, visually distinctive, but more often than not, it’s just not that special.

The BMW M5 CS is one of those end-of-the-line rigs and it’s the first 5 Series in history to receive the CS designation. From the earliest E28 through to the E60, these M specials were known simply as M5s. Then, with the F10, BMW muddied the waters and offered customers an appealing Competition Package, which increased power and buttoned down the suspension.

With this latest F90 generation, the sedan started with the regular M5 model followed by the M5 Competition. Both are formidable machines that succeed in living up to the model’s almost four decades of heritage. With the new 5 Series on the horizon, the ultimate M5 arrives right on time and according to BMW, the CS stands for “Competition Sport”, which is a natural extension to the nomenclature. The question is, however, whether this M5 is worthy of the CS designation.

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Save for minor aesthetic changes, it looks much like the standard M5 to the casual viewer. It uses the same 4.4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 as the Competition, but with some software tweaks. Peak power is up from 454kW to 467kW and is produced at 6000rpm. The torque is identical – 750 Nm – but the curve’s been subtly massaged to produce maximum torque for another 90rpm in the rev range, so peak twist is made from 1800 to 5950rpm in CS tune. The V8 is fitted to the car with stiffer engine mounts.

The CS uses the same eight-speed automatic transmission as the Competition, identical ratios and all. Departing from rear-drive tradition, the F90 M5 sends power to the ground through a sophisticated, M-tuned, xDrive all-wheel-drive system. There is an electronically-controlled clutch that distributes power between front and rear axles, the latter fitted with BMW’s M Active Differential, which means it’s one of those fancy electronically-controlled types that varies the amount of lock based on a range of driving variables.

Relative to the M5 Competition, the suspension is thoroughly reworked, with firmer spring rates, ride height lowered by 6mm, more negative camber for the front tyres, and revised rates for the adaptive damping system. Where a CS-spec M5 might have been an opportunity for a quicker steering rack, the CS uses the same variable ratio, electrically assisted system as the Competition.

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Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres are standard equipment, but our tester had to be fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber because the first set of Pirellis was thrashed to oblivion and it turns out there's a worldwide shortage of them.

Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres are standard equipment, but our tester had to be fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber because after the first set of Pirellis were thrashed to oblivion, it turned out that Corsas are in short supply around the globe. Wheels are forged twenty-inchers that are 9.5 inches wide at the front, 10.5 at the rear.

BMW’s technical literature suggests that the CS tips the scales at 1866kg, which is 105 kilos lighter than their official numbers for the Competition. 23kg of that weight loss comes exclusively from the brakes. They’re massive, two-piece, carbon-ceramic rotors, clamped by six-piston calipers in the front and single-piston calipers for the rear.

The exterior changes are defined by the use of carbonfibre, though the coolest part is the bonnet, but not because it’s a complete carbon piece. Rather, it’s cool because there is a subtle model designation embossed into the raw carbon on the underside. The bonnet uses carbonfibre vents, there’s a carbon splitter at the front and carbon mirror caps, as well as a carbon rear spoiler and diffuser.

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Front and rear badging is done in the CS’s signature Gold Bronze colour and extends to include the kidney grille, wing vents, and wheels. Gold Bronze brake calipers are a no-cost option. BMW doesn’t disclose this information, but both front and rear fascias appear to be constructed of thinner material. Paint colours are limited to the standard Brands Hatch grey metallic, along with two matte finishes that BMW calls Frozen Brands Hatch grey metallic and the signature Frozen Deep Green metallic.

The interior is a dramatic departure from the Competition and the CS is exclusively a four-seat sedan. Gone is the Competition’s three-person rear bench, replaced with a pair of deep, fixed bucket seats. The front seats are similar to the optional M3/M4 Competition buckets emblazoned with a stylised map of the famed Nürburgring Nordschliefe on the headrests, which is where those lucky engineers spent much time developing this CS. Given the hardcore nature of these front seats and their built-in ventilation, they’re heated only and without the cooling feature of the Competition.

The stereotypical, fat-rimmed BMW M steering wheel is present and accounted for, but in CS spec, it gets an Alcantara finish as well as carbonfibre shift paddles. For the purposes of saving weight, the useful centre console storage is deleted, but the wireless phone charger is retained. On the surface, it appears to be hypocritical, but with iDrive’s wireless phone support, someone at BMW decided it was necessary. The company did, however, reduce the use of sound-deadening material throughout the car.

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Speaking of iDrive, it’s the familiar, current system used across many of BMW’s latest cars, with both wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections. The M5 Competition’s adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist systems have been deleted from the CS, presumably to add lightness, and it’s exclusively available with an antiquated, basic cruise control setup.

Officially, the CS is said to launch from naught to 100km/h in three seconds flat and it seems like this sedan can perform that feat repeatedly, all day long, every day. Given the perfect conditions without any engine heat soak, low ambient temperatures, and the ideal road surface, this über M5 feels like it could perform that feat a couple of tenths less than that. This kind of acceleration is simply obscene. The nature of the V8 ensures that in nearly all driving conditions you’re running at revs near peak torque, so maximum thrust is a tip of the throttle pedal away.

If you find yourself tempted to hold that pedal to the firewall, you’ll run out of courage long before the CS. Ungoverned (and on a closed circuit), it’s said to max out at 306km/h, but that number also seems pessimistic. The throaty rumble of the small-displacement V8 is always present, but what’s funny is that the CS exhaust is more docile than that of the Competition. It's shy a few decibels and generally less rowdy overall.

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Confidence under acceleration is another matter altogether and is, in a word, sublime. The engineers behind the M-tuned xDrive system should be awarded medals for their work. The CS never puts a foot wrong, whether in a straight line or exiting corners, and there is never a hint of power-on understeer.

The active differential provides one other, often overlooked benefit – stability under braking. Unlike a mechanical diff, an e-diff frees up while braking, giving the driver confidence under maximum deceleration as well as when transitioning off the brake and throttling out of corners.

While there’s no clear weakness in the driveline, a super sedan could be enhanced by a rapid-fire dual-clutch gearbox but BMW engineered the xDrive system to mate exclusively with the automatic. Between quick upshifts and rev-matched downshifts, the eight-speed auto does all of the right things, plus it’ll cruise along, happily shifting on its own, if that’s what the driver desires.

This CS, however, is far more enjoyable when you’ve configured personalised drive modes for the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel. Given the default mode on engine start is formidable due to the basic performance of this BMW, the best use of these buttons is as follows.

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M1 should be set for aggressive engine and automatic transmission modes, along with maintaining all-wheel drive and moderate stability control interventions. This setup is a perfect middle ground between a completely extreme mode and the car’s default.

To complement those settings, M2 is best configured as a de facto lunatic mode, saved for special occasions. Manual shifting, stability control disabled, and rear-drive only, just as the original M5s were delivered (we’ll overlook the fact that this M5 CS produces more than twice the power of the original E28 M5 for just a moment). While you might be kicking it old school with no software interventions, you’ll need a well-honed skill set to tango with this dance partner.

If you do hit the dance floor and kick it old school, you’ll be rewarded with a wonderfully balanced chassis that gives you high-fidelity chassis feedback around and beyond the limits of this CS. One of the highlights of the CS is improved feedback through the countless (but subtle) suspension tweaks and turns the M5 into a rewarding super sedan that you can place with exceptional precision. Even power-on oversteer, at least in the rain, is remarkably controllable for an 1800-plus kilo sedan.

Both M1 and M2 should be prescribed with the softest damping settings unless you’re on a billiard-table smooth racing circuit. Simply put, in a car this big, you have to give the dampers the freedom to keep the tyre in contact with the road surface.

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Undoubtedly, it must have been tempting for the development engineers to specify stiffer suspension calibrations, which would have resulted in a jarring ride anywhere but the racetrack. It’s a common fault of cars purported to have been developed on the Nordschleife, but the CS has escaped the curse of Nürburg. The ride is noticeably firmer than the Competition, but it remains compliant enough to take Gran out for tea, though she may not appreciate the deeply bolstered bucket seats.

The lesser unsprung weight of the carbon-ceramics certainly permits the dampers to work a little easier than with a heavier steel brake setup, but let's not forget that carbons deliver significantly better thermal efficiency. Repeated heavy braking like you’d find on a racing circuit is something this car will do all day long.

Power, feel, feedback, and modulation are all tops, though there are a few too many millimetres of initial pedal travel before the pads begin to bite the rotors, and they do tend to produce a disconcerting low-frequency wail when you’ve worked some heat into them.

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All things considered, the M5 CS is a car for a select few, but not by its low volume numbers. It’s available exclusively for the 2022 model year and while BMW hasn’t disclosed production quantities, total numbers shouldn’t exceed much more than a thousand, if that.

Still, the CS takes a special kind of driver to appreciate all of its qualities along with its compromises. Among the many considerations, the deep bucket seats make ingress and egress inelegant, the lack of useful console storage has you leaving bits and bobs in strange places, and the lack of adaptive cruise control makes it less usable than a regular M5 or even the Competition.

Its all-conquering performance makes this M5 certainly worthy of the CS designation. However, it’s not just the ultimate BMW performance sedan. It’s a fully-fledged, four-door supercar.

2022 BMW M5 CS specifications