Autoblog Editor-in-Chief Mike Austin takes the BMW M2 to GingerMan Raceway to see if the newest M car lives up to the M name.
TranscriptMIKE AUSTIN: The idea of authenticity is overused these days. Everybody wants to feel like the things they own are more special and less mass market than they really are, whether it's your sustainably farmed organic, gluten-free blue jeans or your free-range, sponge, memory foam mattress. That brings us to BMW, whose M division has started to feel less special and more like just part of the marketing plan, with one exception, the BMW M2. This is the car that brings authenticity back to the M cars.
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The M2 is all about balance, in classic M car fashion. It has 365 horsepower, which is a lot, but it only weighs 60 pounds less than the more powerful M4. The thing is you don't really mind.
It's got a 7,500 RPM red line, which in the days of turbo-charged engines is actually pretty rare. As if the M badges weren't enough, you've got these big, huge tires with the meaty Michelin Pilot Super Sports that you can instantly recognize with a rounded shoulder. And then inside are just these massive drill brake rotors.
Base price of the M2 is $51,700. As tested, ours is $54,495. There are a lot of sports cars around that $50,000 price range, and a lot of them are really good. But the only one that kind of comes to mind with the same mission statement as the M2 would be the Mustang Shelby GT 350. They're kind of two different sides of the same coin. The mustang is a little more raw, a little more animal, whereas the M2 covers the refinement. But for the price, I can't think of any other car besides the GT 350 that feels as special as the M2.
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The M2 has that altered look of old BMW M cars, where you're like this is the regular car turned up to 12 or 13. The inside is also authentically BMW M car. You've got your thick, meaty steering wheel, with your three-colored stitching on the inside. You've got carbon fiber trim that actually has a texture to it. It's not covered by a thick coat of lacquer. The instrument cluster, too, is free of modern over design and distraction. It does have an LED multifunction display, but it's integrated into the bottom of the gauges really neatly.
If I have one complaint about this car it's the steering feel, which doesn't really give you any feedback or any idea of what's going on with the front tires. It's the same case with a lot of other modern cars. But for something this balanced, you kind of hoped that everything would come together perfectly.
This is a modern BMW, of course, so it does have the silly chassis settings. This one is blessedly light on those options. You have Comfort, Sport, and Sport Plus. Sport Plus turns stability control off but keeps traffic control on. So it gives you a little bit of a safety net. If you then go further to turn stability control all the way off, it also kills the rev match downshift. So you're on your own to show off all of your skills or expose the lack thereof.
It's not just that the M2 is fast. Plenty of cars are fast. And it's not just because it's easy to drive. Plenty of cars are easy to drive. It's just that everything flows naturally from the brake to the gas, your hands turning the wheel, and it makes you trust the car. And you're able to push it right up to the limit.
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Is there another car out here that's this fun and this smooth?
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Holy crap. This thing is so fast.
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