BMW M and one of its works drivers, the former motorcycle-racing legend Valentino Rossi, have come together to celebrate his career - and his 46th birthday - with a new, limited-edition version of the mighty M4 CS. It’s called the Edition VR46 and there will be just 92 examples of it in total.
Hold on, 92? Why not 46?
Divide 92 by two and you’ll have your answer. The M4 CS Edition VR46 will be sold in two main lines called the Sport and the Style, and there will be precisely 46 of each. Valentino turned 46 on February 16 this year, and he raced with the number 46 throughout his glittering career racing bikes. So intrinsically linked to Rossi is this number that it has been retired in the MotoGP class since he switched to racing cars in 2021, while the speed limit in his hometown of Tavullia in Italy is 46km/h, rather than 50km/h as is the norm across urban areas in the rest of the country.
Anything new about the BMW M4 CS?
Essentially, the inherent value of the Edition VR46 is purely in its appearance and the links to Rossi, rather than any mechanical changes. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, as the M4 CS upon which it is based is already a 550hp/650Nm brute capable of 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds and a top speed beyond 300km/h.
For the Edition VR46 Sport, buyers will get a car in Marina Bay Blue metallic with darker Tanzanite Blue metallic side graphics, essentially represented by a massive ‘46’ overlapping the doors and rear wings. There’s also a yellow strip that runs from the A-pillars over the side windows to the back of the M4.
For the Style, that yellow strip is deleted, and the blue-on-blue colour scheme is inverted, but also rendered in matt effect, which BMW calls ‘Frozen’. So, the bodywork is darker Frozen Tanzanite Blue, with Frozen Marina Bay Blue decals.
Beyond, the look of both the Sport and Style series of the M4 CS Edition VR46 cars is identical, with much yellow used both inside and out. The colour is employed externally for the surrounds on the kidney grilles, the brake callipers, the big ‘VR46’ logo plus Valentino Rossi signature on the carbon-fibre roof, and also for one V of the spokes on the light-alloy wheels. This isn’t just for ‘Valentino’, but is something borrowed from motorsport, where the paint quickly highlights exactly where the air valve for the tyre is for the support crews as the car comes to a halt in the pits. Anyway, back with the road-going BMW, there’s also a VR46 badge on the back.
Inside, more VR46 emblems can be found on the head restraints of the bucket seats and the door sills, obviously rendered in yellow, while the shade is also used for the Alcantara on the shoulders of the chairs, plus the stitching and 12 o’clock marker for the three-spoke M Alcantara steering wheel. The finishing touch is a ‘1/46’ plaque on the central console which denotes the M4 CS Edition VR46’s limited-production status.
Explain the whole ‘46’ thing...
Young Valentino grew up watching his dad, Graziano, racing motorcycles. And Rossi Sr’s number? Why, 46, of course. Valentino therefore adopted it when he himself became a bike racer, but - with the greatest respect for his dad - the younger Rossi rather eclipsed his father’s on-track achievements and went on to become a legend. He won his first world title in 1997 in the 125cc class, before progressing to the 250cc category and winning another world crown there in 1999.
However, it was in the 500cc category, renamed as MotoGP in 2002 and representing the pinnacle of two-wheeled road-racing motorsport (kind of like the F1 of bikes), where Rossi cemented his status. He won five straight world titles between 2001 and 2005 inclusive, then added another two in 2008 and 2009 for good measure. With nine world titles, 432 Grands Prix (he’s the only man currently to have ridden in more than 400 GPs), 115 race wins and 235 podiums, Rossi is one of the three most-successful people to have ever ridden a motorcycle competitively.
His nickname was officially ‘Il Dottore’, and you probably don’t need a degree in Italian to work out that that means ‘The Doctor’, but most people knew his ‘VR46’ brand. This is because Rossi always raced as #46, even in the years when - as reigning MotoGP champion - he could legitimately have carried #1 on his bike instead. He even lives at a property called VR46 Motor Ranch, which is in Tavullia (that place where we told you the speed limit is 4km/h lower than in the rest of Italy’s villages, towns and cities).
Yet he only ever rode Aprilias, Yamahas, Ducatis and Hondas during his era of motorcycle dominance, so the BMW link-up doesn’t come from that sport at all. Instead, in 2021 Valentino decided to transition to four-wheeled motorsport, and as we said at the top of the piece, he is now a BMW M works driver, competing in an M4 GT3. It’s therefore why the German company chose the M4 CS as the car to gain his personal oversight (the blue and yellow colours used are Valentino’s faves), marking the Italian icon’s 46th birthday in true style.
Aside from the colours and graphics, anything else to note about the Edition VR46?
Yes, the lucky buyers of this car will get an incredible two-day package as part of their purchase, beyond the actual M4 CS Edition VR46 of their choice. On day one, they will be flown to Italy to have a barbecue… at the VR46 Motor Ranch, with a chance to “talk shop” with Valentino himself. Then, on day two, there’ll be a chance to drive a variety of BMW M products at the nearby Misano circuit, which is Rossi’s home track and the place where he won two GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup races in his M4 GT3 - triumphing there in 2023 and ’24.
Irish prices for the Edition VR46 haven’t been confirmed, nor has there been any indication that of the worldwide allocation of 92 cars, there will be any reserved for Ireland. That said, if you want one, you can expect it to cost a fair chunk more than the €214,841.20 that a ‘regular’ M4 CS would set you back.