No.46 has turned 46 … so BMW has created a special road-legal edition of the car he races.

PLACES where Italian motorsport superstar Valentino Rossi has regularly competed appear to have snaffled a special edition BMW created in his honour, announced to time with yesterday being his 46th birthday.

The global production run of the M4 CS Edition VR46 spans 92 vehicles, with the limited-edition model costing almost $110,000 more than the standard M4 CS.

New Zealand M4 opportunity presently starts with the Competition M xDrive Coupe, for $199,399.

Closest recipient country to NZ for the Rossi car is Australia, which has been allocated four cars - all were spoken for within an hour of announcement.

Rossi raced there for BMW in the Bathurst 12 Hour at the start of this month. BMW won, though victory went to a sister M4 GT3. The car the Italian co-shared finished second. BMW used the Bathurst race as a launch venue for an M3 CS Touring wagon …. which is also off the cards for NZ.

Forty six is also Rossi’s preferred race number; he has used it consistently throughout his motorsport career, on motorbikes and cars. His father also raced motorbikes and used the number 46.

The Edition 46 has the type’s turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder in 405kW/650Nm CS tune, matched to an eight-speed torque-converter ZF automatic transmission and a variable all-wheel drive system.

The build run is split between distinct 'Sport' and 'Style' variants, with Australia receiving two of each, and customer deliveries across the Tasman will commence between July and September 2025 in Australia.

Part of the buy-in is an invitation to enjoy a “a once-in-a-lifetime experience” meeting with Rossi at his home at the VR46 Motor Ranch in Tavullia, Italy, along with a BMW M Driving Experience at the Misano race circuit, also in Italy.

The two-day experience will include “a barbeque and a chance to talk shop with Valentino Rossi himself”, while the M Driving Experience will include “the latest BMW M models”.

With these nine world championships and no fewer than 115 Grand Prix victories to his name, Rossi is one of the most successful motorcycle racers in history.

When the curtain fell on his two-wheeled career at the finale to the 2021 season, Rossi turned his attention solely to car racing, including a dabble with rallying and some Formula One test drives.

Since the start of the 2023 season, he has been a BMW M works driver, plying his trade at the wheel of a BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team WRT in series including the GT World Challenge Europe and the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) – which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA). The Bathurst race at th start of this month was the opening round of this season’s Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC).

BMW said Rossi was involved in the design process of the two variants, which include his '46' race number on the carbon-fibre-reinforced doors and the roof, along with his signature on the roof and exclusive BMW Individual paint finishes.

The Sport variant is finished in Marina Bay Blue metallic with its '46' emblem in the darker Tanzanite Blue metallic, while the Style variant is painted in matte Frozen Tanzanite Blue metallic with its '46' in Frozen Marina Bay Blue metallic.

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 yellow accents continue in the ipredominantly Night Blue interior. The M Carbon bucket seats come with Merino leather upholstery in the Black/Night Blue colour combination, BMW says.

“The Sao Paulo Yellow of the Alcantara shoulder area creates an exclusive contrast. The head restraints, like the door sill trims, feature a prominent yellow VR46 logo.”

Furthermore, the M Alcantara steering wheel comes with 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.