Detroit debut likely for red-hot BMW M2

New 350bhp BMW M2 coupe on the way, set to be more hardcore than M3 and M4

    The new M3 Saloon and M4 Coupe have morphed into more usable, everyday cars – so to keep more hardcore ‘M’ fans happy, BMW is cooking up a more extreme BMW M2.

    The new 2 Series Coupe-based model, shown here in our exclusive image and latest spy shots, is expected to debut early next year, and will pick up where the 1 Series M Coupe left off.

    Sitting above the M235i, the M2 will combine a race-car-for-the-road driving experience with more muscular proportions, flared wheelarches and a trademark M car bonnet bulge. Under the bonnet will be a development of the M235i’s 321bhp 3.0-litre single-turbo straight-six, but with power increased to more than 350bhp.

    “If you look at the M3 and M4, it’s not just about putting in the biggest engine with the biggest displacement and highest horsepower,” Carsten Priest, head of product development for M, explained.

 

    “It’s about the right balance between power and weight, so you have a car that’s quick enough for acceleration, but agile enough and with an additional edge.”

   BMW is being careful to ensure the M2 doesn’t step on the M4’s toes, too, hence the more aggressive character, while it’s clearly considering offering only a manual gearbox. “You don’t want to drag people down from an M3 or an M4. That wouldn’t be sensible,” Priest told us. “If you remember the 1 Series M Coupe there’s always a bit of overlap, but we offered the manual gearbox only – that was one of the main differences.”

   A host of race-inspired chassis upgrades should transform the M2 into a purer, faster driving machine, on both road and track. Significantly stiffer fixed-rate dampers will replace the adaptive dampers from the M235i, saving weight and tightening up body control.

    There could also be carbon fibre- reinforced plastic panels to strip out yet more weight, and a proper mechanical limited-slip differential. Added Priest: “If you look at what the M235i stands for, it’s a lot of driving excitement and emotion for sure, but it doesn’t go as far as an M core model. To qualify as an M core model, it would have to go quite a big step further.”

   According to Priest there “tends to be a year delay between the base model and the M car”, suggesting a debut at the Detroit Motor Show, exactly a year after the standard car was launched. Prices should start from around £45,000.