BMW have revealed the hugely-anticipated M2 Coupé, the smallest pure M car in the company’s prestigious high-performance line.
Created to offer sheer driving pleasure, the M2 is the spiritual – rather, direct – successor to the 1M Coupé which had enthusiasts in a tizzy with its simplistic approach towards being the ultimate driving machine: engine at the front, gearbox behind it, and rear-wheel-drive, with electronics sprinkled as a garnish to keep law makers and enforcers happy.
With even numbers slowly making space for themselves, first with the 6 Series, then the 4 Series, it only seems fair that the smaller 2 Series be just as sporty and pack in essential BMW spirit in a not-so-expensive package. Of course, we say ‘not so expensive’, but that remains to be seen once the car arrives in India next year.
The M2 Coupé is essentially a little bundle of energy designed to simply function as a smile-factory. And, we don’t doubt it. Already, questions are being raised as to whether this will be a better car than the elder and more powerful M4 Coupé. There already is an M235i overseas, but it isn’t all ‘M’ now, is it?
The M2, in fact, is an ode to the BMW 2002, a car from 40 years ago which captured the essence of what the company was all about: outstanding dynamics, exceptional agility and optimum car control. The all-new car marks its presence with a dynamic-looking exterior, complete with four exhaust pipes, 19″ wheels, wide, sticky 245/35 and 265/35 ZR19 rubber. The front and rear extensions, 55 mm and 80 mm respectively, were required to accommodate the wider track, wheels and rubber. Braking is handled by 380-mm front M compound rotors, with 370-mm discs at the rear. It measures just 4,468 mm long, 1,854 mm wide and 1,410 mm high. The wheelbase is 2,693 mm. Oh, and it also weighs just 1,495 kg.
The 3.0-litre TwinPower Turbo straight-six engine is dry-sumped and typically BMW albeit with green-salad-compliant blowers and low CO2. It produces a stonking 370 PS at 6,500 RPM, up from the 326 PS in the M235i and 340 PS in the 1M. The torque, 465 Nm of it, comes in between 1,400 and 5,560 RPM. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a 35 Nm bump – so a strong 500 Nm – on tap albeit in short-burst overboost mode between 1,450 and 4,750 RPM. The engine shares a few components with the unit in the M3 and M4 – the pistons, their cast-iron-liner-optimised top rings, as well as the crank’s main bearing shells.
Handling that power is an active M differential, and, logically, it’s purely rear-wheel-drive. There is, however, that all important choice: a seven-speed 7DCT dual-clutch automatic, or a six-speed manual! Acceleration is strong with the 7DCT with just 4.3 seconds needed for the 0-100 km/h sprint. The manual takes 4.5 seconds, but we’d like to believe it’s more fun too. The top speed is 250 km/h, but specify the M Driver Package, and you get to push the needle to 270 km/h. The four drive modes, Comfort, Sport, Sport Plus and M Dynamic Mode, allow the M2 to be fine-tuned to suit the situation. With the 7DCT, the claimed consumption is 12.65 km/l with 185 g/km of CO2.
There’s a lot to look forward to from the M2 Coupé and we hope to see it arrive here with a price tag well away from the dratted eight-figure barrier.
Story: Jim Gorde
