Next BMW M2 spied winter testing - Pistonheads.com

BMW is in the latter stages of development for the next M2 coupe, a model that’s due on roads in 2022 using a detuned version of the M3/M4’s S58 straight-six. The 3.0-litre engine, which made its debut on the X3/X4 M, is expected to give the compact two-door a boost in performance, with estimates of around 425hp suggesting it’ll surpass the M2 Competition from the get-go, and sneak ahead of AMG’s A45 hot hatch and its ballistic turbo four-cylinder. Even if just by 4hp. 

Don’t expect the M2 – due to be codenamed the G87 – to turn into a power-focused offering, though, because all things suggest a continuation of the driver-centric appeal that made the F87 so popular in its four years of production. The spy pictures we have here don’t suggest much of a deviation from that formula; there’s the same butch rear end with chunky wheelarches and four prominent exhausts, for starters. The cladding prevents us knowing much more, but it’s an encouraging start. And, perhaps just as crucially, this car looks to be a reasonably compact two door coupe. Given everything else BMW has made of late, to have something so reassuringly normal is nice.  

Underneath, the 2022 2 Series will be significantly different to before thanks to the adoption of BMW’s CLAR platform, giving the G87 a stiffer structure than ever before, with a slightly bigger footprint. The latest 3 Series and 4 Series both use the same architecture, albeit with a larger wheelbase, and share the same strong dynamic abilities across their ranges, which ought to trickle into the 2 Series line-up.  

Let’s hope the S58 engine does make it to the M2, as it should be the perfect fit - much as the old S55 3.0-litre was. In all applications so far, the new engine has used forged internals and lightweight metals to ensure reduced mass and improved responses, so in a relatively small package like the M2, it should make a noticeable difference. Especially if a manual gearbox remains the standard-fit transmission option, as we expect it to, with the DCT auto continuing as the optional alternative. 

It looks like more of same but with a few key differences for this new M2, then, with the M engineers no doubt keen to retain the charm and character of a very popular model while also keeping up in the power race. Cars are due on the road next year, which means we could see the M2’s reveal late this year or early in 2022, perhaps even at a real life motor show - but let’s not get carried away just yet.  If there’s a way to celebrate life going back to normal in the last decade of petrol-powered new cars in Britain, a compact straight six BMW is probably a good way to do it.

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2021-02-25 11:34:20Z
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