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BMW M2 Coupé
M POWER
M2 uses an uprated version of 3.0-litre sixcylinder to deliver 364bhp and 465Nm
OFFICIAL
Pumped-up BMW M2 C Rebecca Chaplin
Rebecca_Chaplin@dennis.co.uk @BelieveBecca
IT was only a matter of time before BMW’s M division got its hands on the 2 Series, and this is the result – the hotly anticipated M2 Coupé. Priced from £44,070, it will go on sale in April next year, with fewer than 500 models earmarked for the UK. Two years after the car on which it’s based was launched, the M2 has the Audi RS 3 firmly in its sights. With the M division’s reputation for producing brilliantly balanced, agile and searingly fast rear-wheel-drive performance cars, this new M2 Coupé is set to be a worthy competitor. It looks like a baby M4. It has similar air intakes at the front, flared wheelarches and trademark quad exhausts. The rear end is more toned and sculpted than the 2 Series’ and there’s a clear influence from the limited-run 1M Coupé. According to BMW, the M2 has been designed
10 Special Issue
■ 364bhp from 3.0-litre six-cyl ■ Manual or automatic boxes
for aerodynamic purposes – not for style. As a consequence, BMW has managed to reduce lift by 35 per cent and drag by five per cent over a standard 2 Series. Wider sideskirts are another modification, to accommodate the car’s wider tracks and larger wheels. The M2 will use BMW’s 3.0-litre straightsix turbocharged engine, which features in the M235i, but has been uprated for the new model. It produces 364bhp and 465Nm of torque, plus an additional 35Nm is available with the overboost function between 1,450 and 4,750rpm. The gearbox, brakes, front and rear axles, crankshaft and pistons
DESIGN
BMW insists aggressive styling is for aerodynamic efficiency. Pumped up wheelarches accommodate wider track and tyres
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