Next-generation BMW M2 (and M2 Gran Coupé): fresh details emerge…

By: CAR magazine

Fresh details about the second-generation BMW M2 have emerged, including suggestions the rumoured four-door M2 Gran Coupé variant will make do with a four-cylinder heart.

According to Autocar, the G87-generation M2 coupé is due to hit the market in 2022.

The report claims the new M2 will stick with a rear-wheel-drive layout, running on a version of the platform underpinning the Z4 (and Toyota GR Supra). Power will come from a detuned version of the turbocharged 3,0-litre inline-six already employed by the X3 M and X4 M (and set to be rolled out to the new M3 and M4 soon).

Autocar’s sources suggest the S58 powerplant will deliver “at least” 313 kW in the next M2, eclipsing both the current car’s 302 kW and the 310 kW offered by the 2,0-litre, four-cylinder unit in the Mercedes-AMG A45 S. This, the publication claims, will translate to a zero to 100 km/h time in the “low four-second bracket”.

The report says BMW M will again offer the M2 with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, while the current car’s seven-speed dual-clutch transmission will be ditched in favour of an eight-speed torque-converter automatic.

“We have some markets that are calling for an automatic option, but the overwhelming majority of our customers continue to see the manual gearbox as a must-have feature,” a source told the publication.

And the rumoured M2 Gran Coupé? Well, Autocar says this variant will run on the Munich-based firm’s front-wheel-drive platform, powered by a “highly tuned” version of the turbocharged 2,0-litre, four-cylinder engine from the M235i Gran Coupé, here with “around” 298 kW. Expect the M2 Gran Coupé to be offered exclusively in xDrive guise.

This engine, according to the publication, will also be used in a new (on again, off again) 1 Series hot hatch set to slot in above the M135i xDrive.

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