The Bargain Unicorn: BMW M4 GTS

Say hello to Magma Cars, our latest Trusted Dealer Partner. When I heard about the partnership, the first thing I did was of course have a browse of their stocklist, and I decided I’d pick my favourite to feature. Their inventory has offerings from Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin and Porsche, and yet what caught my eye was a grey BMW.

The BMW in question is one you do not see every day. In fact, you’ll be lucky to see one every year! It’s the successor to the bright orange E92 M3 GTS we recently featured on our NA Heroes Series — the F82 M4 GTS.

The M4 GTS stands as one of the most focused cars BMW’s M Division has ever built — a road-legal machine with genuine motorsport engineering honed for both track and road use. Developed as a much more extreme derivative of the F82 M4, the GTS was part of a limited production run of just 700 units planned worldwide although that’s said to have ended up at 803 customer cars. Most importantly, there are only 30 UK examples, so it’s an exceptionally rare beast and instantly sought-after by BMW enthusiasts and collectors. 

Its development was heavily influenced by BMW’s motorsport expertise, with the car being tested and tuned at demanding circuits including of course the Nürburgring Nordschleife, where it recorded a 7 min 28 sec lap time — around half a minute quicker than a standard M4 despite a relatively modest power hike.

Under the bonnet sits the familiar S55 3-litre twin turbo straight six, so this is no longer an NA Hero, but enhanced with a unique water injection system that cools the intake charge to allow higher boost pressures, it delivers a very punchy 500hp and 600Nm of torque. 

More than brute power, lightweight construction is integral to the GTS ethos: extensive use of carbon fibre components on the roof, bonnet, splitter and adjustable rear wing, along with a stripped-back interior, keeps the kerb weight down to around 1,510kg — a modest 30kg saving over the standard M4, but this car is much more than the sum of its numbers. A titanium exhaust, carbon bucket seats and unique OLED rear lights further separate it from the standard M4 models.

Whilst the theme of the M3 GTS was overwhelmingly orange with that being the only colour option, things were toned down rather heavily for the M4 GTS with four choices — Apine White, Mineral Grey, Black Sapphire, and Frozen Dark Grey, as seen on this car with the front end wrapped in satin PPF. Keeping the theme a little though are Acid Orange details like the roll cage, fire extinguisher, splitter and wheels. Whilst said wheels look identical to those used on the M4 Competition, they’re actually an inch smaller in diameter up front and half an inch wider all-round to accommodate wider rubber.

It has a crazy low 5,000 miles on the clock, M Carbon Ceramic brakes plus it’s just been serviced at BMW and had a fresh set of Cup 2s, so it’s good to go for its next owner, but what really gets me about this car is the price. Most highly limited cars appreciate. The E92 M3 GTS has skyrocketed, although admittedly numbers are significantly lower still, then there’s the likes of the Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 with 500 produced worldwide which has more than tripled in value since new.

This? Despite having just 5,000 miles on the clock and being one of just 30 cars in the UK, it has actually depreciated by around £50,000, with an asking price of £79,995. That seems like a steal for such a rarity and such an icon of its generation. Whether you’re looking for an insanely capable road-going track car or something to hold onto in hope of future values creeping the M4 M4 GTS is a scarce and compelling opportunity. Despite its lack of a naturally-aspirated motor, I feel like the M4 GTS’ day will come, and while you’re waiting for that day, you’ll have an absolute blast driving it.

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