Your BMW M 50th anniversary birthday wish list

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The BMW M4 CSL is one of the key models on BMW M’s 50th anniversary launch calendar

BMW M’s 50th year started on a high with the Autocar five-star-rated BMW M5 CS

The eagerly awaited BMW M3 Competition Touring was unveiled at Goodwood

Offering BMW M3 pace with much more space, the Touring is the ultimate present to fans

The BMW M2 is the perfect 50th birthday present for fans of compact manual BMW M cars

The BMW M2 has already been testing at the Nordschleife, ahead of its reveal later this year

The limited-run BMW M4 CSL blends an increased 550hp with 100kg of weight savings

Special editions don’t come much more special than the BMW M4 3.0 CSL homage

The BMW i4 M50 is the first taste of BMW M’s charge into a new amped-up all-electric era

The BMW i4 M50 takes all of BMW M’s 50 years of knowledge and adds an extra spark

The BMW iX M60 is the second pillar of BMW M’s move to electric power

The BMW Concept XM is BMW M’s first standalone model since the BMW M1 of the 1980s

The BMW Concept XM’s 750hp hybrid powertrain makes it BMW M’s most potent car to date

The BMW M4 GT3 is already winning races in the German DTM and US IMSA series

The BMW M Hybrid V8 will race in the US IMSA series in 2023, before heading to Le Mans in 2024

The BMW M Hybrid V8’s target is BMW’s second Le Mans win, after the BMW V12 LMR in 2000

Close Promoted by Autocar 12 mins read 1 September 2022 Follow @@autocar Share

In the five decades since it was founded, BMW’s race-bred performance-focused BMW M division has pulled together an impressive roster of game-changing pace-setting epoch-defining models – from the race-inspired BMW 3.0 CSL that started it all in 1972, through the legendary BMW M3 E46 that defined the brand’s reputation in the 1990s, to today’s deep, broad and well-defined mix of high-tech ultra-potent BMW M saloons, coupe’s, cabriolets and SUVs.

Now, for 2022 – its 50th anniversary – BMW M has pulled together one of the most impressive line-ups of model launches and special editions in its history. So, if you want to join the 50th anniversary celebrations by putting yourself right in the driver’s seat, here are all of the all-new BMW M models that will mark the brand’s big year of celebrations, and why they should be on birthday wish list.

Find out more about BMW M’s 50th anniversary

BMW M5 CS

It’s always good to start a big birthday year with a resolution, and it’s clear from the reveal of the limited-run special-edition BMW M5 CS in January that BMW M has lost none of its resolve to lead the way in its quest for ultimate performance. Boasting 635hp and up to 750Nm of torque from its 4.4-litre M TwinPower Turbo V8, it will sprint from 0-62mph in 3.0 seconds on its way to an electronically limited 189mph, making it BMW M’s fastest and most powerful production car to date.

As befits any good new year resolution, the BMW M5 CS has focused on getting leaner, keener and even more stylish for 2022, with lightweight and carbon-fibre components cutting 70kg of weight from a chassis and body that hugs the ground 7mm lower. Equally, shock absorbers from the BMW M8 Gran Coupé, rear-biased M xDrive all-wheel-drive, an Active M differential and M Carbon ceramic brakes contribute to a bespoke chassis tuning.

No wonder our Autocar road test team gave it a much-coveted hard-to-earn five-star review. “The BMW M5 CS is the super-saloon to rule them all,” we said when we celebrated this accolade in our Autocar Awards. “More importantly, it’s the archetypal and defining example of the breed returning to the height of its powers. The way it overlays so much muscular aggression on the normal bones of the BMW 5 Series might be a high-water mark for super-saloon design. It’s the perfect execution of the ordinary made extraordinary.”

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BMW M3 Competition Touring

Every birthday, there’s one present you’ve been eagerly awaiting for some time. In the case of the BMW M3 Competition Touring, it’s a car that BMW M fans have been hankering for since the launch of the first BMW 3 Series Touring in 1987. Deep in BMW M’s HQ in Munich’s Garching district, a feasibility prototype was briefly considered in 2000. But it wasn’t until this year that the dream became reality.

Offering BMW M3 pace with much more space, the BMW M3 Competition Touring is the ultimate birthday present to BMW M’s fans. Boasting 510hp and 650Nm from its race-bred 3.0-litre M TwinPower Turbo straight-six, it gets you from 0-62mph in as little as 3.6 seconds, with all the BMW M3 trimmings you’d expect under the skin – including rear-biased M xDrive all-wheel-drive, an Active M Differential and Adaptive M suspension.

It’s in the back, though, where the real changes happen. Boasting between 500 litres and 1,510 litres of load space (depending on whether the three full-size 40:20:40 split-rear seats are folded down), the BMW M3 Competition Touring is – in BMW’s own words – blistering performance and everyday practicality taken to the extreme.