Executives at BMW M have suggested the next-generation M2 will again be closely related to its larger M4 sibling, though the two coupés will feature distinct “characters”.
During a recent online roundtable event, CARmag.co.za asked whether the upcoming M2 – which will reportedly hit the market in 2022 in G87-generation form – would again draw heavily on the latest M4.
“The outgoing M2, M3 and M4 were sharing many components. It turned out to be quite a good recipe for all of these cars,” Hagen Franke, head of product management for the new BMW M3 and M4, told us.
“So if you have a convincing recipe, you might continue that,” he said.
Martin Schleypen, spokesperson for BMW M, was quick to add the next-gen version of the performance division’s smallest coupé would have a character distinct from that of the M4.
“I would like to add – and it’s very important – that for sure the next-generation M2 will have a significantly different character to the M3 and M4,” Schleypen said.
A 2020 report out of the United Kingdom claimed the new M2 would stick with the current model’s rear-wheel-drive layout, with power coming from a detuned version of the turbocharged 3,0-litre inline-six engine employed by the new M3 and M4.
That report furthermore suggested the S58 powerplant would deliver “at least” 313 kW in the next M2, eclipsing the current M2 Competition‘s peak figure of 302 kW (but not quite hitting the 331 kW maximum of the limited-run M2 CS). This, the publication claimed, would translate to a zero to 100 km/h time in the “low four-second bracket”.
The report also claimed BMW M would again offer the M2 with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, while the current car’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission would be ditched in favour of an eight-speed torque-converter automatic (following the route taken by the G80-gen M3 and G82-gen M4).
