Originally released in 2015, the M2 is Bimmer’s take on small, lightweight, two-door driving excitement. Now, the Bavarian’s go-faster division is blessing the coupe with a slew of performance parts designed to up the fun factor to ever-greater heights, while also adding some tasty aesthetics upgrades to boot.

Continue reading for the full story.

The Full Story

First, the basics. The M2 Competition is a compact coupe tuned by BMW’s M Division racing boffins to deliver superlative handling and performance potential.

Under the hood, the M2 Competition is equipped with the same powerplant as the M4, which means its got a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder. Output is rated at 410 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, which, in the M2 Competition, sends the two-door from 0 to 62 mph in 4.4 seconds. Throw in the optional double-clutch transmission, and that time is reduced to 4.2 seconds.

While certainly quick in a straight line, the M2 Competition’s greatest strength is in the way it tackles a corner, and to that end, M Division definitely cranked up the heat. Helping it turn are new M Performance suspension components, which includes lowering springs that bring it 20 mm (0.78 inches) closer to the pavement, as well as adjustable dampers with 12 individual settings for the compression and 16 individual settings for the rebound.

“The M Performance suspension ensures a markedly neutral driving response with significantly reduced rolling tendency. The performance of the BMW M2 Competition is especially enhanced when it is driven extremely dynamically,” BMW explains.

The rest of the handling package includes bigger brakes. The upgraded brake calipers include six-pot units in front and four-pot units in the rear, both of which are made from aluminum and painted red. The burly calipers clamp down on ventilated and perforated BMW M Compound discs, offered as part of the BMW M Sports Brake System Red package. These offer greater thermal resilience than the standard braking package, and are particularly good at stopping when mated with the optional motorsports-derived sport pads.

Bigger and badder equipment is certainly a good way to up the performance ante, but so is a meaningful weight reduction. In the corners, M Division mounted a set of lightweight 19-inch forged wheels, rocking a Y-Spoke, 763 M design. They look great, but also reduce unsprung mass by 3.2 kg (7.1 pounds) compared to the standard 19-inch wheels. Buyers can get the new rollers in either Jet Black matte or Frozen Gold, both of which come with machined M Performance lettering around the edge of the rim. Tire selection includes the ever-popular Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 compound.

As you probably expect, there’s a lot of optional carbon fiber components to help cut weight as well, starting with a new M Performance composite hood. This also looks rather tasty, showing off with a partially visible varnished weave and a signature “powerdome” in the center. It also reduces the weight over the front axle by 9 kg (19.8 pounds).

Up next is the M Performance carbon roof, which also gets visible varnished weave while shaving off 5 kg (11 pounds). Matching it is a carbon trunk, which cuts 6 kg (13.2 pounds) and adds a bit of drama when loading and unloading thanks to visible carbon on the underside of the piece. Both the carbon trunk and the carbon roof will be available from November onwards.

Additional M Performance carbon can be found along the body. Underneath is an M Performance exhaust system utilizing a titanium muffler and steel pipes. The 93 mm (3.7-inch) exhaust tip is made from carbon and badged with the M logo. Inside the exhaust is a variable flap that’s used to modify the sound, tunable via various driving modes (Efficient Mode, Sport Mode, and Sport+ Mode). Offered from September onwards, the new exhaust cuts an impressive 8 kg (17.6 pounds) all by itself.

The rest of the body gets a variety of carbon fiber aero and style parts, such as a new front splitter, kidney grille, air breather side bars, exterior mirror caps, door sill finishers, side skirt extensions, rear diffuser, and rear spoiler.

Helping you wring out every last tenth is the M Performance Drive Analyzer, which combines a variety of data (road speed, engine data, throttle and braking inputs, and lateral g-forces) for on-track performance optimization. The analyzer will record and display the various parameters mentioned, connecting via your OBD port through a Bluetooth enabled port stick and running a smartphone app to retrieve the data. Video and graphic displays are used view the data, while the app provides the means to share it all.

Complementing the app is a variety of mounts for cameras to record your heroics, including attachments to the threaded bushes, towing eyes, and various locations in the interior.

In terms of pure aesthetics, M Division is offering a carbon fiber engine cover, as well as LED door projectors that provide splash graphics on the pavement when you open the door.

Moving inside, there’s a pair of sports steering wheel options. The Pro model gets leather for the upper and lower sections, plus Alcantara for the hand grips. There’s also a wheel with an integrated race display on the upper rim, issuing a variety of info depending on the drive mode, such as a stopwatch and g-force meter. Colored LEDs to the sides of the display tell you when to shift.

Rounding it out are M Performance pedal covers, floor mats, and gear shift knob, plus additional carbon fiber trim and Alcantara details and on the key case.

References

BMW M2 Competition

Read our full review of the BMW M2 Competion}

BMW M2

Read our expert review of the standard BMW M2}

BMW M4

Read all about the BMW M4}