BMW is celebrating motorcycle racing legend Valentino Rossi’s 46th birthday with a limited-run M4, but you’ll need to be quick – and have deeper pockets than ever – if you want to buy one.
The BMW M4 CS Edition VR46 was revealed this week in honour of the nine-times world champion, who since retiring from MotoGP at the end of 2021 has gone on to race sports cars for BMW.
Earlier this month, Rossi – along with teammates Raffaele Marciello and Charles Weerts – finished second in the Bathurst 12 Hour GT3 endurance race, driving a BMW M4.
A total of 92 examples of the limited-run M4 CS Edition VR46 are being produced globally, split into 46 units of the ‘Style’ and ‘Sport’ variants respectively – honouring Rossi’s iconic #46 racing number.
Just two examples of each variant are coming to Australia in the third quarter of 2025 (July to September), each priced from a cool $346,900 before on-road costs.
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That’s a significant increase on the $254,900 before on-road costs price tag of the 50 M4 CSs which came to Australia last year, and even more than the 30-unit M4 CSL, which was priced from $303,900 in 2022.
The most distinctive visual change compared to the M4 CS upon which they’re based is Rossi’s famous #46 adorning the car’s doors and roof.
On Style examples, the body is finished in matte Frozen Tanzanite Blue metallic paintwork, with the #46 in contrasting Frozen Marina Bay Blue metallic. Sport versions are painted in Marina Bay Blue metallic, with the #46 coloured Tanzanite Blue.
Both examples feature a bright yellow #46 on the roof, alongside Rossi’s signature.
More subtle visual tweaks include a bright yellow outline on the kidney grilles and a single spoke of the wheels (pointing towards the tyre valve), while the yellow theme continues to the brake calipers and, on Sport examples, an accent strip on the door frames.
There’s also VR46 lettering at the rear, denoting the special edition model.
Inside, the sports seats are upholstered in black and Night Blue Merino leather with Sao Paulo Yellow Alcantara shoulder bolsters, while the head restraints and door sill trims feature a yellow VR46 logo.
The red contrast stitching and centre marker from the M4 CS’s flat-bottomed steering wheel have also been exchanged for yellow colouring.
According to BMW, “the chassis technology for the new BMW M4 CS Edition VR46 has been tuned precisely to the performance characteristics of the engine, the overall vehicle concept and its weight distribution”. However, it’s not clear whether this includes steering or suspension changes beyond those made for the M4 CS.
There’s no change in engine performance for the Edition VR46, which continues to be powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder petrol engine, producing 405kW of power and 650Nm of torque.
Drive is delivered to all four wheels through an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission, with the 0-100km/h sprint taking a claimed 3.4 seconds.
While this may not make the M4 CS Edition VR46 seem like a good deal on paper, BMW will also include two customer experiences which aren’t available to any other M4 buyers.
The first of them includes meeting Rossi at his home – known as VR46 Motor Ranch – in Tavullia, Italy. In addition to this, buyers will be treated to a BMW M driving experience at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Orders are now open for the BMW M4 CS Edition VR46.
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