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2023 BMW M2 Coupe Will Be the Most M Car of the Third Millenium

BMW stepped on very thin ice with the latest M4 and M3, and we are not just talking about the controversial oversized kidney grilles but also the technical solutions used by both sports models.
2023 BMW M2 12 photos
Photo: S.Baldauf/SB-Medien
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For the first time ever, the BMW M4 G82 can be fitted optionally with an all-wheel-drive system, which for most people equals better traction. However, for a small number of purists that represents the death and globalization of a sports car that didn’t need more than a powered axle and a stick shift.

With that in mind, BMW hasn’t completely forgotten the needs of those few driving purists that are still fans for the blue and white roundel and is currently working on a replacement for the 2 Series Coupe, which will be gifted with a bonkers M version as well.

Unlike its bigger brother, the 2023 BMW M2 Coupe will be a traditional compact BMW, built in the spirit of the original 2002 Turbo.

The current 2 Series lineup includes no fewer than four entirely different models. Three of them use a front-wheel-drive platform with transverse engines and not even a slim connection apart from name with the previously mentioned 2002 Turbo or other compact coupes from BMW's history.

That will not be the case with the new 2 Series Coupe and its M2 counterparts, which are being developed on the same RWD architecture with longitudinal engines as its bigger brothers. The M2, in particular, will actually be more of a driver’s car than the M4, thanks to a lower weight, shorter wheelbase, and no xDrive option.

Even the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six, codenamed S58B30T0 in the M3, M4, and X3 M, X4 M, will find its way in the most compact M car, with just a tiny bit less horsepower and torque.

Around 420 horsepower and 550 Nm (406 lb-ft) of torque are expected to find their way in the standard M2, with future M2 Competition and CS versions likely to get an extra 20 horsepower or so.

Last but certainly not least, it looks like neither the upcoming 2 Series Coupe nor the M2 will get a version of the gargantuan kidney grille found on the M3 and M4.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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