The second-generation BMW M2 Coupé is the final pure-combustion offering from Munich’s storied M division, seeing out the era with drastic increases in power, performance and poise compared with its acclaimed predecessor.
Its unveiling rounds off a particularly busy year for BMW’s M division, which has celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022 with the debuts of the hardcore M4 CSL, the first-ever M3 Touring, the M Hybrid V8 endurance racer, the updated M8 and – most recently – the XM SUV, its first plug-in hybrid and only its second-ever bespoke model.
The M2 is what division boss Frank van Meel calls “the entry drug” to the now sprawling line-up of M cars, slotting in below the M3 and M4 to provide BMW once again with a direct rival to the Porsche 718 Cayman and the pricier variants of the Alpine A110. BMW has described the M2 as a spiritual successor to the legendary 2002 Turbo sports coupé (and more directly the short-lived 1 Series M Coupé). It also noted that the original model, which bowed out in 2020, quickly became the best-selling car in the M line-up and ultimately racked up 60,000 global sales.
This Mk2 version will be built in Mexico alongside the standard 2 Series Coupé, but it’s as far removed from that car as is the M3 from the 3 Series – and, in fact, most of its track-honed drivetrain chassis hardware is lifted from that larger, more powerful saloon.
For now sold exclusively with one engine option and the choice of an automatic or a manual gearbox, the M2 is due to arrive in the UK next May, priced from £61,495 – making it slightly cheaper than the comparably potent and similarly conceived 718 Cayman GTS.
M bosses haven’t, though, ruled out the possibility of more hardcore, perhaps limited-edition additions to the line-up in future.
As recently reported by Autocar, a lightweight, firmed-up M2 ‘CSL’ is set to follow, with a more extreme design treatment to match its increased power and heightened track focus.
From launch, the M2 takes its power from a variation of the ‘B58’ 3.0-litre straight six used by the M3 and M4, giving 454bhp and 406lb ft of torque to propel the coupé from 0-62mph in just 4.1sec (with the automatic gearbox) and on to a limited 155mph – performance figures that make it very nearly as quick as the M4.
The M2 has been designed to be more “extroverted and bold” than its M stablemates, according to van Meel, placing as much of a focus on dynamic flamboyance as it does outright pace and driver engagement.
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Looked better wearing the prototype camo. Is this really what the M2 Coupe driver wants to be seen in? I understand the mechanical appeal and that of a smaller coupe body because inner city dwellers have little parkling space, but really, those "IKEA forest arches" and the big square airboxes on the front? Not exactly the desirable and subtle finesse of the 2002Turbo or the E30 M3 is it?
1700kg? That's madness for a compact 2-door sports coupe...
My old 440i was larger, had the same engine, but weighed around 1470kg - hard to see where all that extra weight has come from?