Wanna Smokey Burnout? Get an M2
WITH numerous spy photos of a widely-flared and clearly track-focused 2 Series Coupé doing the rounds for the past few months we knew BMW’s performance team was building an heir to its long discontinued 1M, but now the Bavarian brand has made the follow-up model official with the announcement of a new M2 which will be launched in South Africa next April.
Just as it did with the 1M four years ago, Beemer’s in-house M division has taken an existing car – in this case an M235i – and given it a performance-enhancing overdose which again incorporates some of the current M3’s trick parts. The M2’s wide stance is a result of an aluminium front and rear suspension borrowed from the M3/M4, and to fit the bigger bits together with a set of staggered 19” alloys, designers had to widen wheel arches by 55mm at the front and 80mm at the back. The rest of the M2’s body follows suit with an assertive front apron full of functional air vents, deeper side skirts, a new boot spoiler and a rear diffuser underneath a more muscular back bumper.
The treatment carries into the cabin where an M-specific gear lever and steering wheel replace standard 2 Series items, and the door panels and centre console are covered in racy alcantara offset by raw carbonfibre. Sport seats finished in black Dakota leather with blue contrast stitching feature embossed M logos and adjustable side bolsters. Much of the standard model’s infotainment and connectivity functions remain, but the M2 gets extra ConnectedDrive tech by way of an integrated GoPro action camera app that records trackday laps and is operated through the car’s onboard iDrive controller and central display.
Gearbox choices will include a six-speed manual with an automatic rev-matching (throttle blipping) function, and an improved seven-speed dual-clutch M DCT which can now “creep” better in slow-speed traffic. As usual, the M DCT box comes with launch control for optimised off-the-line starts, but a new “Smokey Burnout” function (BMW’s words, not ours) now allows drivers to put on shows of wheelspin – and destroy rear tyres in the process.
Power comes from a 3-litre straight-six petrol turbo just like the M235i, but internals (crank and pistons) borrowed from the M3 have pushed output from 240kW and 450Nm to 272kW and 465Nm. An overboost function can also raise torque to 500Nm under certain, full throttle circumstances. BMW quotes 0100km/h in 4.5 seconds for the manual and 4.3 for the automatic, making the M2 half a second quicker than the M235i in both cases. Top speed is governed to 250km/h but an optional M Driver’s Package, which comes with an advanced driving course, can increase this to 270km/h. Local pricing and full specifications will be confirmed closer to next year’s launch.
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