Introduced in November 2015 in the free-to-play video game Need for Speed: No Limits before the real deal was introduced in the flesh in January 2016 at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, the M2 is polarizing. On the one hand, connoisseurs knew that BMW had cut a few corners by offering a non-M engine before the S55 rolled out in the Competition and CS. And on the other hand, the F87 is a thoroughly entertaining driver’s car.
The small footprint and low weight of the M2 translated to five-star verdicts from notoriously nitpicking reviewers, including Chris Harris, who currently dailies a Competition Sport. A future collectible by all accounts, the F87 will be followed up very soon by an all-new model under the G87 moniker.
Based on the next-generation 2 Series Coupe—a.k.a. G42—the long-awaited second act has been spied on numerous occasions with plenty of camouflage on every single panel. Only the proportions, design of the wheels, glasshouse, and exterior lights are relatively obvious from these pictures, which is enough photographic material to render the G87 very accurately.
Photoshopped in light blue with contrasting black accents and tons of carbon fiber for the roof, mirror caps, front splitter, and side-skit extensions, the M2 features a more angular design for the headlights and a subtle Hofmeister kink as the quarter-window motif. Expected with the dual-screen dashboard of the i4 and iX electric vehicles, the corner-carving machine is also switching to the CLAR platform of the BMW M3 and M4.
As opposed to the bigger siblings, the M2 is rumored exclusively with rear-wheel drive and a choice of six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmissions. The latter serves as the replacement for the M-DCT introduced a whopping 13 years ago as the successor to the SMG gearbox.
On the suck-squeeze-bang-blow front, everyone agrees that BMW will utilize the S58 twin-turbo sixer from the M3 and M4 with a slight detune to preserve the status quo. The straight-six engine with 3.0 liters of displacement should crank out between 420 and 450 horsepower in this application. Higher up the spectrum, hearsay suggests anything between 480 to 490 ponies, which sounds like a lot for such a small driver's car.
Based on the next-generation 2 Series Coupe—a.k.a. G42—the long-awaited second act has been spied on numerous occasions with plenty of camouflage on every single panel. Only the proportions, design of the wheels, glasshouse, and exterior lights are relatively obvious from these pictures, which is enough photographic material to render the G87 very accurately.
Photoshopped in light blue with contrasting black accents and tons of carbon fiber for the roof, mirror caps, front splitter, and side-skit extensions, the M2 features a more angular design for the headlights and a subtle Hofmeister kink as the quarter-window motif. Expected with the dual-screen dashboard of the i4 and iX electric vehicles, the corner-carving machine is also switching to the CLAR platform of the BMW M3 and M4.
As opposed to the bigger siblings, the M2 is rumored exclusively with rear-wheel drive and a choice of six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmissions. The latter serves as the replacement for the M-DCT introduced a whopping 13 years ago as the successor to the SMG gearbox.
On the suck-squeeze-bang-blow front, everyone agrees that BMW will utilize the S58 twin-turbo sixer from the M3 and M4 with a slight detune to preserve the status quo. The straight-six engine with 3.0 liters of displacement should crank out between 420 and 450 horsepower in this application. Higher up the spectrum, hearsay suggests anything between 480 to 490 ponies, which sounds like a lot for such a small driver's car.