Ultimate M
Stellar track debut shows big gains over the M2 Competition. Greatness awaits for the CS – but at a price
We’ll spare you any suspense: you’re looking at the best driver’s car BMW currently makes. High praise, but after a day spent lapping the new M2 CS on track in Germany, we can think of no BMW today that delivers the same combination of performance, balance and attitude.
Remember the M4 CS? This car takes the same philosophy. The M2 CS is the M2’s last variant before the introduction of a second-generation model in 2021. Officially, production isn’t limited, but manufacture has to stop in September. At some 9 million baht in Thailand? It costs a significantly more than the circa-6.5 million baht M2 Competition. Expensive? Sure, but so is its prime competitor, the Porsche 718 Cayman GT4.
The justification isn’t reserved exclusively for its elevated dynamics. There are expensive-looking parts, too: a new-look front bumper with carbon fibre splitter, a carbon fibre-reinforced-plastic bonnet and carbon fibre roof — all shared with BMW’s new M2 GT4 race car.
There’s also a larger rear spoiler, reworked diffuser and lightweight 19in forged aluminium wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sport or, as on our test car, track-focused Pilot Sport Cup tyres (245/35 front and 265/35 rear).
The changes not only give the M2 CS a more aggressive look but also reduced lift. The head of BMW M development,
Dirk Häcker, says lift is virtually eliminated at 200kph, giving the car what he calls “more settled qualities at high speed”.
The engine represents new performance ground for the smallest M car, too. It’s the long-serving S55 twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight-six used by the old M3 and M4, with a new exhaust. It makes 450hp at 6,250rpm and 550Nm between 2,350rpm and 5,500rpm — 43hp more than, but the same torque as, the M2 Competition.
Drive goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox (we tested the auto) and revised electronically controlled active M differential.
With the dual-clutch gearbox, BMW claims a 0-100kph time of 4.0sec, 0.2sec quicker than the M2 Competition and 0.4sec quicker than the Cayman GT4. The top speed is governed at 280kph.
The cabin is largely the same as the M2 Competition’s, but there’s a new carbon fibre centre console, M Competition Sport seats (as used by the M4 CS) and extra Alcantara. It’s not brimming with luxury, but nor is it the pared-back road racer some might expect. It even has rear seats.
Today’s test drive is limited to a circuit. But if there’s a circuit to really test the M2 CS’s dynamics, it’s the Sachsenring, a challenging track best known for hosting the German round of MotoGP. On start-up, the characteristic engine note leaves you in no doubt: there’s only one make of car that sounds like this. Subjectively, not a lot separates the engine from the M2 Competition’s. Smooth and muscular in character, but highly responsive at the top end, it gives the M2 CS the brawn and urgent in-gear qualities its track-bred positioning merits.
Peak power is delivered 1,000rpm further up the dial so the M2 CS wants to be worked, but such is the smoothness and hardened, more authoritative nature that it’s no hardship. With peak torque arriving at 2,350rpm and staying on tap until 5,500rpm, it’s tremendously flexible and amenable, though. You can short-shift and still have a handy amount of shove out of slower corners.
The dual-clutch gearbox, with steering-wheel-mounted paddles, is fast on upshifts and rev-matches perfectly on downshifts, although it lacks the intrinsic involvement of a manual. The chassis is wonderful, too. BMW M’s efforts at providing a perfect 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution and added stiffness with a series of braces create the basis for truly engaging and playful handling. To this, the M2 CS adds a heightened degree of directness and urgency via a heavily retuned suspension that now includes adaptive dampers — the first time they’ve been fitted to an M2.
The balance is finely struck. It doesn’t have the magnificent neutrality of the mid-engined Cayman GT4, but few front-engined cars can match the M2 CS’s precision. On track, there’s a small degree of understeer, notably in high-speed corners. Häcker says this is intentional, as a marker for the driver. Still, it’s easily quelled by lifting the throttle or trailing the brakes.
It’s through the Sachsenring’s challenging infield that the decision to give the M2 CS adaptive dampers feels fully justified. Body movements are even more immediate than with the passively damped M2 Competition, but roll angles are better controlled. It settles quickly, with added authority, giving the M2 CS a flatter, more determined cornering nature.
The carbon fibre roof apparently aids this. “It lowers the centre of gravity,” Häcker says. “It uses a new sandwich construction, which not only adds structural rigidity but is also lighter than the previous method we used.”
The steering is sharper too — or at least feels it. The electromechanical rack and its ratio are from the M2 Competition but a camber increase and added sensitivity brought by the adaptive damping bring greater precision to the M2’s familiar well-weighted and linear feel. We’ll need some time on the road to determine if feedback is improved, but there’s certainly an added keenness.
On smooth surfaces, the soft-compound Cup tyres grip outstandingly. You can load up the M2 CS on corner entry and confidently keep pushing. And it’s here, with greater grip equating to faster cornering speeds, where BMW says it has a distinct advantage over the
M2 Competition. “It’s a combination of a lot of detailed chassis changes,” says Häcker of the greater agility offered by the M2 CS, adding: “It laps the Nürburgring eight seconds faster than the M2 Competition.”
In a development taken from the M2 Competition, the M2 CS gets steering wheel preset buttons, to which you can allocate your preferred chassis set-up. With stability control (DSC) switched off, there’s a lovely progressive transition into oversteer when you do push through the traction limits. It instils great confidence, and the electronically controlled M differential allows you to light up the rear tyres when conditions allow.
No less effective are the brakes, which, at 400mm front and 380mm rear, are larger than the M2 Competition’s and grabbed by six- and four-piston calipers respectively. Alternatively, there are pricey carbon fibre discs.
With all of our time spent on track, we won’t pretend we know much about the M2 CS’s ride. But experience of other M models on adaptive dampers suggests it should be more compliant than the passively damped M2.
Ultimately, then, the M2 CS is everything we expected and more. It’s noticeably keener, more incisive and more entertaining than the M2 Competition. Questions about its ride aside, it’s one of the best driver’s cars you’ll see this year.
Yes, it’s expensive — almost half as
much again as its standard sibling. But the rewards run deep.