All about the M2 coupe – BMW’s latest mass non-hybrid “emka”
BMW has unveiled the new M2 coupe. In the second generation, the two-door has retained the original concept: the M2 remains a driver-oriented coupe with no alternative rear-wheel drive, a six-cylinder engine, a basic 6-speed “mechanics” and a drift mode. The new BMW is much larger, heavier and more powerful than its predecessor, it features a “digital” cockpit, an expanded set of electronic add-ons and assistants. Worldwide sales start in April.
The new BMW M2 (G87) is difficult to confuse with the usual “twos” in the back of the G42, because this time the designers did not limit themselves to the body kit and cheated by visually changing the “emke” shape of the headlights due to black plugs in the corners. The exterior is by no means conservative: the front bumper is deliberately chopped, the air intakes of the brakes and the slots of the frameless radiator grille are almost rectangular.
From the stern, there are fewer differences from ordinary coupes, but the Emka still has a branded exhaust with a pair of twin round pipes, and a more developed bumper with vertical reflectors. Another marker of the most powerful version is anthracite wheels with different widths 275/35 ZR19 in front and 285/30 ZR20 in the rear.
Compared to the original “two”, the M2 is five centimeters wider; after the change of generations, the length increased by eleven centimeters, the width – by three centimeters, and the height decreased by a centimeter. At the start of sales, five body colors will be available, three of them appeared in the official video, the two missing are black and metallic gray:
Under the hood of the BMW M2 remains a 3.0-liter straight-six with twin turbocharging. Now the S58 engine develops 460 horsepower at 6250 rpm and 550 Nm of torque from 2650 to 5870 rpm. Even an ordinary emka turned out to be more powerful than the extreme M2 CS of the last iteration!
S58 engine under the hood of a BMW M2 (G87)
The base coupe is equipped with a 6-speed “mechanics” with a switchable crankshaft speed adjustment system, an option is an 8-speed automatic. In any case, the M2 has an active rear differential and adaptive suspension. There is no all-wheel drive and will not be, although the M240i version (374 hp, 500 Nm) has an xDrive modification.
From standstill to 100 kilometers per hour, the new BMW M2 with manual transmission accelerates in 4.3 seconds. The two-pedal version is 0.2 seconds faster. The maximum speed with the M Driver`s package is 285 kilometers per hour, without it – 250 kilometers per hour.
The dynamics are by no means record-breaking (the previous M2 CS was faster), and here’s why. The curb weight of the new coupe is a solid 1700 kilograms. You can lighten the M2 by ordering a carbon roof (minus six kilograms) and bucket seats with reinforced plastic (minus eleven kilograms), but even in this case, the new BMW will be heavier than the all-wheel drive Audi RS 3 (1650 kilograms).
BMW insists that the static weight distribution is close to ideal, and there are more opportunities for adapting driving parameters “for yourself”. The pilot is able to change the settings of the differential, the sensitivity of the brake system and traction control, and the stabilization system has as many as ten options for operation!
An interesting detail is that the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) function is now “hardwired” directly into the engine control unit, which allows the electronics to intervene ten times faster. Buyers will surely love the drift rating system and the stopwatch to calculate lap times.
In the interior of the BMW M2, there are no surprises: all coupes have a digital cockpit with a 12.3-inch virtual instrument display, a 14.9-inch touchscreen of the iDrive 8 multimedia system and built-in navigation. For sports seats, racing buckets, a projection screen, a heated steering wheel, wireless charging for gadgets and support for eSIM 5G, you have to pay extra.
In Europe and the US, sales of the second-generation BMW M2 will start in April. The price on the other side of the ocean is from 63.2 thousand dollars (equivalent to 4.14 million rubles). A light 1,365-kilogram Porsche 718 Cayman costs the same in the US, and an all-wheel-drive Audi RS 3 will be three thousand dollars cheaper.