Photo: BMW
After revealing the final incarnation of the F87 in the guise of the M2 CS, the BMW Motorsport division has taken the veils off another pocket-sized sports coupe. It’s christened M2 CS Racing, and it’s gifted with electronics from the M4 GT4.
A customer racing car with close ties to the production vehicle, the M2 CS Racing can be acquired for the princely price of 95,000 euros plus value-added tax. The S55 inline-six turbo lurks under the hood with 279 PS or 364 PS (205 or 268 kW), translating to 274 and 359 horsepower in the UK and stateside.
“Hold up. Doesn’t that mean the M2 CS is more powerful than the race-tuned counterpart?” That’s true, and it’s even more curious when you find out that the exhaust has been changed to a motorsport specification with racing cats. BMW hasn’t mentioned if production is also limited as it’s the case with the road-going sibling, which is restricted to 2,200 units for the 2020 model year.
Scheduled to premiere later this month at the Los Angeles Auto Show next to the M2 CS, the Racing doesn’t feature a sequential transmission as you’d expect from a track-only land missile. It’s the same 7-speed DCT as ever, and the only change would be the “specialist motorsport software” according to BMW.
The anti-lock brakes and stability control are specific to the Racing as well, and as the successor to the M235i Racing and M240i Racing, this fellow here is entitled to compete in the TC America as well as VLN Endurance Championship Nurburgring. BMW is currently working on a performance upgrade that will level up the 3.0-liter engine to 450 ponies, but further details will have to wait for now.
“With the BMW M2 CS Racing, we are continuing the tradition of providing ambitious teams and drivers with an affordable gateway to racing – this time with a car that, with impressive performance data and the latest BMW Motorsport technology, meets all the requirements of a pedigree racing car, better than any previous entry-level model before it,” said motorsport director Jens Marquardt.
Ambitious statements aside, BMW is especially cheeky with prospective customers because the first examples of the breed will be delivered in mid-2020.
In other words, placing an order now means that you’d be lucky to enter the fourth round of the VLN series in 2020 in the Cup 5 class. Last year, no fewer than eight M240i Racing were entered by privateers from Germany and Belgium.
“Hold up. Doesn’t that mean the M2 CS is more powerful than the race-tuned counterpart?” That’s true, and it’s even more curious when you find out that the exhaust has been changed to a motorsport specification with racing cats. BMW hasn’t mentioned if production is also limited as it’s the case with the road-going sibling, which is restricted to 2,200 units for the 2020 model year.
Scheduled to premiere later this month at the Los Angeles Auto Show next to the M2 CS, the Racing doesn’t feature a sequential transmission as you’d expect from a track-only land missile. It’s the same 7-speed DCT as ever, and the only change would be the “specialist motorsport software” according to BMW.
The anti-lock brakes and stability control are specific to the Racing as well, and as the successor to the M235i Racing and M240i Racing, this fellow here is entitled to compete in the TC America as well as VLN Endurance Championship Nurburgring. BMW is currently working on a performance upgrade that will level up the 3.0-liter engine to 450 ponies, but further details will have to wait for now.
“With the BMW M2 CS Racing, we are continuing the tradition of providing ambitious teams and drivers with an affordable gateway to racing – this time with a car that, with impressive performance data and the latest BMW Motorsport technology, meets all the requirements of a pedigree racing car, better than any previous entry-level model before it,” said motorsport director Jens Marquardt.
Ambitious statements aside, BMW is especially cheeky with prospective customers because the first examples of the breed will be delivered in mid-2020.
In other words, placing an order now means that you’d be lucky to enter the fourth round of the VLN series in 2020 in the Cup 5 class. Last year, no fewer than eight M240i Racing were entered by privateers from Germany and Belgium.
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