When it comes to BMWs and dynos, people are usually expecting higher than rated numbers. Most of the time, we find the power the engines should be putting out at the crank are usually read at the wheel, so either transmission losses are really low or the figures claimed by BMW are underrated. Apparently, it’s a different story with the latest M model, the M2.
The guys from The Fast Lane Car put one “baby-M” on the dyno and the results they got were lower than expected this time. According to their read-out, the car made about 287 HP and and 366 lb-ft (496 Nm) of torque at the wheels. Even if we take into consideration a rather generous 15 percent ratio of transmission loss, that adds up to about 330 HP at the crank. That’s still shy of the claimed 365 HP advertised by BMW.
We should certainly take into consideration the fuel used – 91 octane. Furthermore, the test was done at a considerable altitude, which also cuts into the output.
The good news is that there’s more torque on tap than we thought. BMW says that the M2’s reworked N55 engine makes 343 lb-ft (365 Nm) of torque, with an occasional spike up to 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) of torque, thanks to overboost. With a 15 percent transmission loss that would go down to about 290 lb-ft (393 Nm) of torque, and up to 313 lb-ft (424 Nm) of torque with overboost. The 366 lb-ft (496 Nm) found on the dyno are more in tune with what BMW got us used to in recent years.
