BMW M2 | PH Used Buying Guide

• M2s out there for £25,000
• 3.0 straight-six, single turbo (M2) or twin turbo (Comp & CS), rear-wheel drive
• Feels fast at any engine velocity
• Cabin not that particular
• Driving expertise is, although, particularly within the dearer fashions
• Real four-seat functionality
• CS is dear however will not lose cash

As soon as upon a time, engineers might submit requests to the boards of massive automotive firms asking to be allowed to construct one thing mad. It’d nonetheless occur now for all we all know, but it surely feels sort of unlikely.

Anyway, among the finest begging memos of current occasions was the one which resulted within the BMW 1 Collection M Coupe, or because it got here to be identified, the 1M Coupe, or as that got here to be identified, the 1M. Technically the automotive ought to have been referred to as the M1, however BMW had already nicked that identify thirty-odd years earlier for its personal mid-engined supercar, and in addition, why would you need to identify a very nice automotive after a horrid motorway?

As a situation for being indulged of their want to do one thing foolish with the E82 1 Collection platform, the lads in white coats have been advised to maintain the prices down through the use of as many M3 bits as doable. In addition they used BMWs multiple-award profitable N54 3.0 straight six, its twin turbochargers (which made the 1M the primary turbocharged non-SUV M automotive) routing 335hp and as much as 369lb ft by way of a six-speed guide gearbox, a restricted slip diff and a widened again axle.

The stubby, pumped-out Frankenstein creation that was the 2011 1M had a 4-second 0-60 time, a 155mph restrict that didn’t at all times reduce in and a 52 per cent front-biased weight distribution that demanded classic ranges of care on greasy roads. All these character traits have been precisely what thrill-seekers liked about it. Simply 2,700 1Ms have been speculated to have been constructed, however by the point the run completed in mid-2012 the quantity had risen to greater than 6,300. Even so, the 1M is now a stone-cold traditional that can price you between £40,000 and £50,000.

Luckily, the 1M didn’t mark the top of the road so far as manually-gearboxed, front-engined, rear-wheel drive BMW Q-cars went. 4 years after its demise, after the discharge of M235i and M240i efficiency derivatives of the F22/F23 2 Collection (introduced out on the finish of 2013 to succeed the coupe and convertible variations of the E82/E88 1 Collection), the M2 was launched, regardless of that motorway being nearly as annoying because the M1.

2016’s F87 M2 weighed the identical because the 1M and was attractively wider than the M240i, courtesy of 71mm further monitor on the rear and 64mm on the entrance. It featured BMW’s excellent aluminium N55 engine. Already effectively liked by M fans since its 2011 debut, this was comprehensively freshened up for the M2 with elements from the M3/M4 S55 engine together with solid conrods, pistons and crankshaft, a redesigned sump and oil drain pump, and additional oil coolers. The previous spray-on liners have been changed by forged iron ones for stronger reliability in arduous use. 

The upshot of all of it was an engine that produced thirty extra horsepower than the 1M, at 365hp. The overboost max torque determine of 369lb ft was the identical, however the torque the M2 did have was unfold over a wider rev vary. Given the 1M’s efficiency, there was little purpose to complain about its 29.4mpg mixed gas consumption determine, however the M2’s extra subtle electronics lifted that to an much more spectacular 33.2mpg.

When new, the M2 guide’s asking worth of just below £44,000 made it a full £12,000 cheaper than the most affordable M4, however in August 2018 the M2 was changed by the Competitors, which at nearer to £52,000 closed the M2-M4 hole to only £4,000. The massive change was within the Competitors’s engine bay, the place the single-turbo 2,975cc N55 straight six made means for the two,963cc S55 straight six with twin turbos, as seen within the M3 and M4. Energy went up from 365hp at 6,500rpm to a detuned (in comparison with the 425hp M3 and M4) 404hp from 5,250-7,000rpm, whereas torque rose from 363lb ft from 1,450-4,750rpm to 405lb ft from 2,350-5,200rpm. A 55kg weight enhance meant that the Competitors’s 0-62mph occasions have been solely one-tenth faster than the M2’s in each guide and auto codecs.

A CS mannequin went on sale in summer time of 2020 as a traditional ‘seize it whereas it lasts’ providing from BMW earlier than the next-gen M2 comes out someday in 2021. For a hefty premium (£75,355 for the guide and £77,455 for the DCT auto) the CS had loads of carbon, superior aero, and a 444hp variant of the Competitors’s 404hp S55 engine. Unusually, the guide CS was accredited with a barely shorter 0-62 time than the DCT, at 4.0sec and 4.1sec respectively, though that may very well be an web mistake. The M Driver bundle was normal, limiting the CS’s prime velocity to 174mph. 

After its Sachsenring launch the CS was hailed by at the very least one skilled journo as one of the best driver’s automotive within the 2020 BMW vary. Higher nonetheless, so far as we all know there aren’t any Competitors or CS motorways in both the UK or elsewhere.

What are the M2’s rivals? You’d assume they’d be the RS 3 or the AMG A45, each of that are cheaper than the BMW, however those that have pushed an M2 and a Porsche Cayman reckon that’s a better comparability, even when the Cayman is extra clearly a sports activities automotive. With 281hp per tonne, the CS with the DCT gearbox is not far in need of the Cayman GT4 on energy to weight. Its 0-62mph time is definitely 0.4sec shorter than the Porsche’s.

Let’s have a stroll by way of what the M2 was and what it turned, with half a watch on what you wouldn’t need it to change into, ie an unreliable previous heap.

Engine: 2,979cc straight six 24v
Transmission: 6-speed guide, rear-wheel drive
Energy (hp): 365@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 343@1,400-5,560rpm (363lb ft on overboost 1,450-4,750rpm)
0-62mph: 4.5 secs (man), 4.3 secs (DCT)
High velocity: 155mph (restricted)
Weight: 1,570kg
MPG (official mixed): 33.2
CO2: 199g/km
Wheels: 9 x 19in (f), 10 x 19in (r)
Tyres: 245/35 (f), 265/35 (r)
On sale: 2016 – 2020 (together with 2018-on Competitors)
Worth new: £43,770 (man), £46,415 (DCT) (Competitors £51,860 and £54,505)
Worth now: from £25,000

Observe for reference: automotive weight and energy information is difficult to pin down with absolute certainty. For consistency, we use the identical supply for all our guides. We hope the info we use is true extra usually than it’s fallacious. Our recommendation is to deal with it as relative slightly than definitive. 

The one-turbo N55 engine is an exquisite piece of labor, ticking nearly each field a BMW fanatic would possibly dream up. Energy, noise, flexibility, refinement – you identify it, the N55 has it. Solely the supply of peak torque from simply 1,450rpm offers away the presence of a turbocharger, so effectively built-in is it.

In guide M2s the 0-100mph got here up a second faster than it did within the 1M. The elimination of 10kg of sound deadening relative to the M240i introduced good advances in each weight and sporty noise. An M Efficiency exhaust system was out there as an choice with valves that may very well be twiddled by way of a neat Bluetooth controller. Some guarantee claims have been put in on these methods. 

You by no means acquired the feeling that you simply have been gentle on energy with the N55 M2, however however the S55 engine from the M3 and M4 was introduced in for each the Competitors (the M2’s 2018 successor) and the 2020 CS. We’ve detailed the statistical variations within the Overview, however away from the numbers the S55 delivered the standard BMW six-pot refinement and muscularity at decrease revs with sharp response and that traditional BMW zing at greater ones, even when many thought that it didn’t sound fairly pretty much as good because the N55. To attain peak energy within the 444hp CS you wanted to hold on for an additional 1000rpm however that was very a lot a pleasure slightly than a chore.

The M2’s six-speed guide got here with an auto-blip perform. The shift motion was agency however maybe not as slick because the 1M’s guide, giving the sting to the DCT 7-speeder for individuals who have been going to be spending most of their time in a metropolis slightly than on a monitor. For some, the stability shifted again in the direction of the guide within the 2018-on Competitors, and a bit additional once more in that course within the CS. Launch management was out there within the DCT by urgent the traction button to the facet of the shifter till DSC (Dynamic Stability Management) was deactivated, sticking it into first, holding down the brake, urgent arduous on the throttle and releasing the brake. Presettable M buttons on the steering wheel allowed you to disable the driving force aids with a single press.

Even the M2 is a comparatively new automotive with most of them nonetheless being beneath guarantee, so time will inform on mechanical reliability, however thus far the indicators are good. Some house owners have reported defective coils on the pre-Comp N55-engined M2s, which is a little bit of a factor on turbo BMWs, and a couple of has had the electrical water pump go. Generic N55 points can embrace leaking gaskets for the valve covers, oil filter housing and oil pan, damaged cost pipes and splitting coolant overflow hoses. If the fan belt snaps it may possibly wrap itself across the crank pulley and create a foul oil leak, however that may be a freak kind of incidence. On the constructive facet N55s are a lot much less susceptible to the carbon buildup points that plagued the N54.

There’s a identified downside with ‘stuttery’ first gears on the auto transmissions (notably when chilly) which some have put right down to the unusually brief nature of that first ratio and the DCT’s tendency to hunt round for the chew level. Stepping arduous on the throttle helps the trans to interact extra utterly in 1st, lifting off at round 2000rpm to impress a shift as much as 2^nd.

Good high quality petrol works effectively in these automobiles, and there’s no draw back in altering the oil each 5,000 miles (other than the fee). Spark plugs must be modified each 50,000 miles, or much less when you’re taking place the tuning highway. N55s will take as much as 600hp on the usual block.

Simply as the unique 1M did, so the M2 nicked good suspension elements from the M3. The wheel carriers and management arms have been product of solid aluminium, there was further intra-tower bracing, and the rear subframe was fastened on to the physique with no bushes to introduce any suspicion of wobble. Staggered 19in rims have been 9in huge on the entrance and 10in on the again. Brakes have been M compound steels. The brake mud shields in early automobiles trapped stones, inflicting noise. Up to date shields have been issued beneath guarantee to appropriate this.

An electronically managed Lively M Differential modulated torque on the again axle, locking by something between zero and one hundred pc to allow extremely controllable slides on demand. Though the steadiness management system was described as ‘unsympathetic’ by one journal on account of its occasional over-intrusion even in Dynamic mode, the general tackle the M2’s passively-sprung dealing with was of an agile and fluent automotive with a secure entrance finish and a wholesome urge for food for energy deployment. The journey was good too, if a bit of stiffer than the M240i’s, however the win bonus got here in nice straightline stability and fast direction-changing potential. Servotronic steering wasn’t a benchmark in really feel however there was no scarcity of information pouring by way of the chassis.

The Competitors made some good strides ahead on chassis management, modifications to the spring and damper settings combining with a brand new entrance turret brace and rose joints within the rear suspension to purge the M2’s slight bounciness on the restrict with out taking the firmness too far. The additional 55kg the Comp was carrying was neatly spirited away by a meatier steering map and the steadiness management was modded too to permit for a bit extra oppo in Dynamic mode. The Comp acquired greater brakes, which have been nonetheless metal with no carbon choice, although there was a £1,350 M Efficiency brake bundle with 400mm/380mm discs clamped by six-pot calipers. There have been additionally new decisions within the wheel and M seat departments.

The primary chassis intention with the Competitors was to ship dealing with that was extra correct usually and extra progressive on the restrict, and it very a lot succeeded in each areas. It was an important A- and B-roads rear-wheel drive automotive, no matter whether or not you performed with the gears or just surfed on the torque in third or fourth. 

Though the unique M2 retained the 1M’s 52/48 entrance/rear weight distribution, by the point the CS arrived BMW had achieved a close to 50/50 combine, not that stunning in view of the engine’s place behind the entrance axle which made it if not mid-engined on the very least entrance/mid. In addition to further bracing the CS had solid aluminium wheels with 245/35 and 285/35 tyres in both Michelin Pilot Tremendous Sports activities or the extra tracky soft-compound Pilot Sport Cups. The suspension was considerably revised with, for the primary time in an M2, adaptive dampers, whereas a camber change launched extra constructive self-centring to the steering. A bit understeer was constructed into the chassis to assist the driving force in quick corners: trail-braking or a throttle carry reined it in. The M Efficiency braking that was an choice on the Competitors turned normal, with carbon ceramics turning into the choice.

The results of all of it was an excellent handler that lapped the Nürburgring eight seconds quicker than the M2 Competitors whereas able to delivering a mixed gas consumption determine that was nonetheless within the 30s. Spectacular.

We wouldn’t blame you for not eager to become involved within the dry debate on whether or not an M2 is a two-door saloon or a coupe. What’s much less debatable is the constructive impact that M remedy usually if not at all times has on a automotive’s styling. You would possibly want that the usual 2 Collection physique regarded just like the M2’s, however then after all there’d be no level of differentiation and a pumped-up, big-tyred 2 Collection with a range-bottoming engine could be a travesty. Let’s simply be content material with relishing the look of all three of those M variants.

The Competitors’s new entrance finish was designed to permit extra cooling air to get on the extra highly effective engine. It supplied simply 5 no-cost paint decisions. The CS had a vented carbon fibre bolstered plastic bonnet as per the CS variations of the M3 and M4, a carbon entrance splitter and greater rear spoiler and new diffuser crafted from the identical materials, and a carbon-sandwich roof panel to decrease the centre of gravity. Even with all that unique stuff, which seemingly lowered carry at 124mph to as close to to zero as made no distinction, the CS weighed the identical because the 1,575kg Competitors.

A few of these automobiles have suffered from condensation within the LED tail gentle assemblies.

The M2 does sport a slew of M-badged instrumentation, however the general sprint design, the odd rattle and the lingering feeling of it not having a lot ‘posh automotive high quality’ don’t assist to disguise the automotive’s humble ancestry. Nonetheless, the additional usability of the two Collection’s cabin area quickly takes your thoughts off that, enabling regular four-passenger journeys with out the kind of scrunching and wincing that may go on in an Audi TT.

The M4-style high-back entrance seats are snug and mix with the superb M steering wheel to create an M4-like driving place. You possibly can fold the rear seats down to spice up the already greater than acceptable 390 litre boot area.  The M2 acquired the most recent iDrive infotainment bundle with 8.8in touchscreen, digital radio, Skilled Navigation and Media and the standard on-line companies, with ConnectedDrive including a laptimer and GoPro video app. Many of the different stuff you’d need in a automotive like this – cruise, parking sensors, dual-zone local weather management – was provided in the usual spec. Common choices included keyless entry at £350 and heated seats and wheel at £295 and £160 respectively. 

The CS celebration runout mannequin is just about the identical because the Competitors on the within excluding its carbon fibre central console (with out armrest), its thickly-rimmed Alcantara steering wheel and the M Competitors Sport entrance seats from the M4 CS.

There have been cases of intermittent M2 horn and indicator malfunctions, and of iDrive screens turning black or going a bit bonkers in chilly climate (navigating by way of all of the menus, altering the radio station or calling your particular good friend with out being requested). Sound system amplifier failure is one other identified factor, often signalled by a nasty screeching sound that, it seems, isn’t to do with the monitor that’s being performed on the time. Exterior temperature sensors can fail.

The M2 coupe might not have had the 1M’s limited-run unhinged skunkworks enchantment, but it surely did have a hell of a variety of different stuff going for it, specifically its retention of a high-character six-cylinder engine in a world of turbo fours and naturally that real M automotive ‘pocket supercar’ really feel, now temptingly on provide within the used automotive market at costs ranging from £25,000. The driving expertise begins off nice within the M2 and simply will get higher with the Competitors after which the CS, which is a stoating little bit of package.

2018-on Competitions begin at £40,000, whereas a CS shall be arduous to seek out beneath £80,000. Right here’s a delivery mileage Misano Blue one from the PH Classifieds with ceramic brakes and nearly the whole lot else you may want in one among these for £89,950. On the extra reasonably priced finish of issues, what about this privately owned 2016 M2 in white with simply 11,000 miles recorded for £29,250?

The center alternative between these two extremes would naturally be a Competitors like this first-year specimen from 2018 with simply 5,000 miles and carbon inside trim. Yours for £40k on the nostril.