As far as driver’s cars go, the BMW M2 really is right up there as one of the best of the best.
Sure, it was heavy, and the initial iteration may not have had a ‘real’ BMW M powertrain, but it made the right noises, drove the right way and if one was brave enough to option three pedals and a manual gearbox, was engaging and analogue in the right amounts.
Naturally, then, we’re all chomping at the bit for the second-generation BMW M2, the G87. Spy shots have been doing their rounds on the internet and recently, an Instagrammer spotted BMW’s latest baby M-car wearing some snazzy garnish such as a boot spoiler and stacked quad-exit centre exhaust tips. This isn’t a new look for a performance ‘Beemer’ – we saw these novel looking tailpipes for the first time in September 2020 on the bigger BMW M4 Coupé. It is very likely that these are M Performance parts for the forthcoming BMW M2, which will almost certainly be unveiled this year to celebrate half a century of BMW’s M Division.
From Motor1.com‘s spy shots, we can also tell that the G87 M2 will seemingly be the only BMW to feature the new iDrive 8 infotainment system, something which we can tell by the pair of screens sitting next to one another on the dashboard.
Kudos to BMW for deciding to keep a manual option on the flagship ‘2, too. The G87 M2 will receive the twin-turbocharged S58 engine as per the M4, but diluted a bit so as not to upset the apple cart. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect somewhere in the region of 330 kW in the M2, which would line up nicely with the outgoing M2 CS.
2022 is bound to be a thrilling year for M fans with the imminent arrival of the M3 Touring, M4 CSL and XM (no not Citroën) plug-in hybrid SUV. The M240i xDrive was also recently launched locally – read our driving impression of that here.
