Facelifted BMW M2 to get 400bhp CSL as last hurrah
A HARDCORE VERSION of the BMW M2 coupé is under development and looks set to bring the CSL name back to production for the first time since 2004.
The M2 CSL, due as a run-out model at the end of the current M2’s production life, will be based on a revised M2, which is due next year. It will follow the template set by the E46-generation M3 CSL with a strippedout interior, bucket seats and weight-saving carbonfibre parts.
The M2 CSL is predicted to have around 400bhp from a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine, which is likely to be borrowed from the M3 and M4. Sources believe this S55 unit will be used in detuned form rather than developing a highly strung version of the M2’s older N55 engine due to the increased reliability and improved responses that the newer technology enables.
BMW has been encouraged to produce the M2 CSL after sales for the regular model far exceeded predictions. BMW M vice president Dirk Hacker told Autocar this is making special editions easier to justify, even in today’s uncertain economic climate.
“The M2 is tracking at 40% to 50% above our expectation in terms of sales, and demand for cars like the M2, or GTS and CS heritage models, is growing,” he said. “Any car that has true heritage to motorsport is an opportunity for us. New markets are always opening for those cars and that will increase.”
The facelifted M2 arriving next year, on which the CSL will be based, will get minor aesthetic changes and a small increase in power of its N55 engine.