BMW Celebrates GT3 Driver Valentino Rossi's Birthday With A Special Edition M4 CS
Valentino Rossi is a MotoGP legend. A nine-time world champion, he's the only motorcycle racer to have completed over 400 Grand Prix races, and he has 199 podiums and 89 victories under his belt. Rossi doesn't just race bikes, though. He's dabbled in Formula 1 testing and rally racing, and after retiring from MotoGP in 2022 Rossi has driven full-time in the FIA World Endurance Championship behind the wheel of a BMW M4 GT3. Rossi recently celebrated his 46th birthday, and to celebrate BMW created a special edition M4 CS. Called the BMW M4 CS Edition VR46, it's finished in Rossi's favorite color and proudly wears his racing number.
A distinctive design
Even though this special edition M4 will be available for the public to purchase, Rossi was so involved in the design process that you'd think this was a one-off just for him. You'll be able to spot the M4 CS Edition VR46 from a mile away thanks to the prominent use of the number 46. Not just a reference to Rossi's age, the number has become his trademark in racing, with MotoGP retiring the number after he left the sport. Massive "46" decals adorn each side of the M4, and which of the two available colors you choose for the M4 CS Edition VR46 determines what color the decals will be. If you go for Marina Bay Blue the 46 gets finished in Tanzanite Blue, but choose the matte Frozen Tanzanite Blue and the 46 will be Frozen Marina Bay Blue.
Up front, the surround for BMW's signature kidney grilles is painted in Sao Paulo Yellow, Rossi's signature color. That yellow is also used on one of the v-spokes on each of the car's forged alloy wheels to indicate where the valve stem is, on accent stripes for the door frames and trunk, and on the brake calipers. The M4's carbon roof gets even more special treatment. A large "VR46" logo is hand-painted in yellow on the roof with Rossi's autograph on top of it.
Even more logos and yellow inside
The yellow accents and 46 logos continue inside the M4 CS Edition VR46. Despite the exterior being available in two color choices, the interior only gets one. Its carbon-backed sport seats are finished in Black and Night Blue Merino leather, and the shoulder areas of the are covered in Sao Paulo Yellow Alcantara. Basically, anywhere you look in the interior, you'll be met with either a VR46 logo or yellow trim. Both are found on the door sills, headrests, the center marker position and stitching for the flat-bottomed Alcantara steering wheel, and the carbon center console.
You probably can't get your hands on one
While the M4 CS Edition VR46 is all about the visuals, you still get all the performance goodness of a normal M4 CS. Its twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 makes 543 horsepower, 20 more than an M4 Competition, and that power is routed through BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system by an eight-speed automatic transmission. BMW says the M4 CS will hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, and its model-specific exhaust setup will also let other drivers know you're not playing around.
Sadly not many people will be able to experience the performance of the M4 CS Edition VR46. As you might guess by all the 46s, BMW is only making 46 of each color for the whole world, and they might be all spoken for. BMW said interested buyers could register on a first come, first serve basis on a special website, M4CSVR46.com. The site was supposed to be live from February 24 at 6 p.m. EST to Friday March 28 at 11:59 p.m. EST, but it looks as though all the cars may be spoken for as nothing happens when you go to the site — it's just a dead, blue page. Whoever the lucky owners are will have to dig deep to afford one. Pricing for the M4 CS Edition VR46 starts at $155,000 not including destination, $31,500 more than a normal M4 CS.