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Pros: Serious driving dynamics and excitement, good size
Cons: End of the line?
BMW M2 Coupe Design
Not much changed on the outside of the BMW M2 as part of its midlife update, but that’s ok with us, as we’ve been big fans of the car’s brawny, all-square stance since its unveiling and if anything, it’s more interesting than ever in a marketplace swamped with more and more SUVs and crossovers. Coupes are certainly the exception to the rule today.
And the M2 is an exceptional coupe, clearly from the BMW M school of design with its ground-hugging body styling, wide tracks, beefy tyres and, of course, four exhaust outlets at the back.
For what it’s worth, buyers now have more colour options than before – including eye-catching yellow and purple paints – and they can swap the standard black wheels for silver rims.
BMW M2 Coupe Interior
There are a few more new items inside the M2 to point out, but the core recipe using lots of red-and-black materials remains intact. A new steering wheel is fitted, with a red 12 o’clock marker, and we’d urge buyers to pay a little extra for the more tactile Alcantara-trimmed wheel. BMW seems proud of the fact that the new wheel has a flattened bottom to its rim, but we prefer the fully-round shape of the old one.
Elsewhere, there are new air vents, a few updates to the high-tech digital dashboard arrangement and the option to upgrade the quite-tasty leather-upholstered sports seats to BMW M’s incredible, race-inspired carbon-backed items. They’re expensive, but they do give the M2’s cabin real edge, and they’re comfortable despite their pared-back appearance.
BMW M2 Coupe Performance & Drive
Sure, the exterior appearance and interior ambience are important, but when it comes to BMW M cars, it’s all about the drive, and the M2 has stood for driving excitement in a relatively compact package since day one. You’ll be glad to hear that nothing has changed on that front, though BMW has given the engine a little more performance.
Up 20hp on the pre-facelift model, this twin-turbocharged, straight-six, 3.0-litre petrol unit now makes 480hp and, if you go for the automatic model, peak torque has been increased by 50Nm to top out at 600Nm. To put that all into perspective, this little beauty can do 0-100km/h in as little as four seconds. That’s properly fast.
But in truth, such numbers take a back seat when you’re driving the M2, as it’s more about the driver engagement and exhilaration offered up by the agile, rear-drive chassis. That super engine provides a thrilling soundtrack to any drive – especially in the sportier driving modes – while even a pootle to the shops is made more interesting by the responsive steering and brakes. If you happen to have access to a racetrack, the M2 really comes alive, too. It’s a serious performance car.
BMW M2 Coupe Pricing
Now the bad news. Whether you go for the manual or automatic versions of the BMW M2, you’ll pay at least €120,000 for the privilege, and you’re a better person than me if you can resist the allure of some of the better optional extras. Still, the regular M2 – for want of a better phrase – looks like a bargain next to the new M2 CS, which retails at an eye-watering €160,000 or so.
Carzone Verdict
Expensive it may be, but the BMW M2 Coupe is likely to be one of the final iterations of this compact sports car available purely with petrol power. It is an incredibly exciting car to drive, at any speed. It’s just about comfortable enough to use on a daily basis, yet it’ll show a clean pair of heels to supposedly more track-focused machinery if you take it to a race circuit. It is a car to be celebrated and cherished by those lucky enough to have the wherewithal to buy one.