News / 25 February 2025 / Albert du Toit

Special-edition BMW M4 revealed – Only 10 units for South Africa

BMW has taken the wraps off the new M4 CS Edition VR46.

The VR46 is an ultra-exclusive version of the sports car that celebrates BMW M works driver and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi’s 46th birthday.

Only 92 units of the M4 CS Edition VR46 will ever be produced, 46 in the Sport and 46 in the Style design package.

“Ten BMW M4 CS Edition VR46 units will make their way to South African customers,” confirmed the German automaker’s domestic wing.

“They will be available locally from the third quarter of 2025.”

As is usually the case, BMW hasn’t divulged the local pricing of the ultra-exclusive M4 just yet. In the US, it’s going for a hefty $155,000, which equates to roughly 2.85 million of your finest South African rands.

However, given the normal M4 CS’s starting price of R3,050,000, we can reasonably assume that the Edition VR46 will fetch a few thousand more than this.

Purchasing a BMW M4 CS Edition VR46 also comes with a once-in-a-lifetime experience comprising an exclusive, personal meeting with Valentino Rossi at his home – the VR46 Motor Ranch in Tavullia, Italy – and a BMW M Driving Experience at the Misano race circuit.

The Doctor’s touch

Affectionately known as “The Doctor”, Rossi himself was personally involved in the design process for the two versions of the Edition VR46, with the colour concept of the two interpretations inspired by his preferred tones and personal style.

In the “Sport” finish, the two-door is painted in Marina Bay Blue metallic, while both sides of the car display an outsized “46” in the darker Tanzanite Blue metallic.

Meanwhile, the “Style” option comes in matte Frozen Tanzanite Blue metallic, with the “46” this time in Frozen Marina Bay Blue metallic on both sides.

In a nod to Rossi’s favoured colour scheme, the BMW M kidney grille outline and one of the V spokes in the forged M light-alloy wheels – which, as on racing cars, indicates the position of the tyre valve – are painted in bright yellow, as are the brake callipers with M logo and an accent strip over the door frames of the “Sport” variant.

The carbon-fibre roof, which is painted by hand like the sides of the vehicle, is adorned with a large VR46 logo also in yellow, complemented by Rossi’s signature.

At the back, VR46 lettering is proudly emblazoned on the tailgate.

The yellow accents continue inside the M4 CS Edition VR46, which is predominantly Night Blue.

The M Carbon bucket seats come with Merino leather upholstery in the Black/Night Blue colour combination, with Alcantara shoulder areas in Sao Paulo Yellow to create striking visual contrast.

Meanwhile, the head restraints and door sill trims feature a prominent yellow VR46 logo.

Furthermore, the M Alcantara steering wheel with its flat-bottomed rim wears yellow contrast stitching and a yellow centre marker.

On the carbon-fibre centre console of all examples of the Edition VR46 is a badge stating “1/46”, identifying each Sport or Style car as one of the limited run.

The heart of the BMW is a 3.0-litre, straight-six, twin-turbo powerplant that has been uprated to produce a generous 405kW and 650Nm – 30kW more than the normal M4 Competition.

The power jump was achieved through increasing the maximum charge pressure of the two mono-scroll turbochargers to 2.1 bar along with several other model-specific tweaks that BMW doesn’t go into much detail about.

Grunt is fed to the intelligent all-wheel-drive system via an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission, while an Active M Differential ensures optimal grip during spirited driving.

Excellent engine response time is ensured with a model-specific engine mounting with increased spring rates.

The rigid connection between the power unit and the vehicle’s structure enables particularly direct transmission of power to the drivetrain every time the driver presses the accelerator.

As a result, the M4 CS Edition VR46 can sprint to triple digits in a mere 3.4 seconds.

The 200km/h landmark is achieved in 11.1 seconds, while top speed is electronically limited to 302km/h courtesy of standard fitment of the M Driver’s Package.

For the number nerds out there, acceleration from 80-120km/h takes an impressive 2.6 seconds in fourth gear, and 3.3 seconds in fifth.

The oil supply system – like the cooling system – is also designed to handle the specific challenges of track use, including consistently high revs and extreme lateral acceleration.

A dual-branch exhaust system with electrically controlled flaps, a weight-minimising titanium silencer, and two pairs of tailpipes painted in matt black, additionally provides an emotionally charged orchestra when the car is pushed to its limits.

Further enhancing the driving experience are individually tuned axle kinematics and bespoke wheel camber settings, dampers, auxiliary springs, and anti-roll bars.

These additions serve to optimise steering precision, transmission of lateral control forces when cornering, spring and damping response, and wheel location.

Likewise, the electronically controlled dampers of the adaptive M suspension come in a model-specific setup, as do the electromechanical M Servotronic steering with variable ratio, and the integrated braking system.