Time has come for the guys from MotorWeek to take the BMW M2 out for a road test and see how BMW’s claims about the performance of the car stack up against their own findings. Want to try and guess what they learned? You don’t have to as we have it all on video, posted below.
The guys were intrigued by the Germans’ decision to launch an M2 after they had previously recorded a great success with the M235i model. To this day, the M235i remains one of the most high praised models the BMW brand launched in recent years, Consumer Reports, for example, giving it a 98 out of 100 score and calling it better than a Porsche 911.
With the M2 things were taken to a new level. The car now has 365 HP and 343 lb-ft (465 Nm) of torque, going up to 369 lb-ft (500 Nm) with overboost. The power increases aren’t all that big compared to the M235i but a true M car sets itself apart from the other models in the range with a host of other features. For example, the suspension has been modified, there’s an M Active rear differential included in the package and the brakes are far superior. Those are just a couple of things that were improved over the M235i on the M2.
On the track, with precise instruments at hand, the guys from MotorWeek found that the manual M2 can do 60 mph from standstill in 4.2 seconds which is pretty close to what BMW claims. Furthermore, the quarter mile run was done in 12.8 seconds with a trap speed of 110 mph, numbers more than decent for a stock car with this much power.
All in all, the BMW M2 delivered on all counts and therefore prompted the reviewers to call it a throwback at what the M3 used to stand for. There’s no electronically adjustable suspension and things are as close to what purists dream of as possible these days. All in all, the M2 remains a great offer at its $51,700 MSRP.
