The BMW M2 & M2 Competition Thread

Help Ciro out

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Here’s how much extra the facelifted BMW M2 costs

Back in May, BMW revealed the facelifted 2 Series range, including the subtly updated M2. And now, with local deliveries of the tweaked performance coupé expected to start in the coming weeks, we can have a look at pricing for the hottest 2 Series.

In manual guise, the updated M2 will cost R914 506, which works out to an increase of R16 300 over the pre-facelift version. Specified in dual-clutch guise, the refreshed M2 (which thus gains the M-DCT suffix) is priced at R968 910, which again represents a hike of R16 300.

So, what does the facelift include? Well, look closely and you’ll be able to spot the new, full-LED headlamps (rather than bi-xenons), complete with a fresh hexagonal-type twin-circle lighting signature, as well as the subtly redesigned LED tail-lamps.

The Munich brand’s designers have also made some changes inside, where you’ll find an updated facia (with new air-vents, for instance), a tweaked instrument cluster and touchscreen functionality for the 8.8-inch central display.

Nothing’s changed under the bonnet, of course, with the turbocharged 3,0-litre inline-six still providing the rear wheels with 272 kW and 465 N.m. That, says BMW, is enough for a 4,5-second sprint from standstill to 100 km/h in the case of the six-speed manual, and a time two-tenths faster in the case of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/heres-how-much-extra-the-facelifted-bmw-m2-costs/
 
Saw a facelift white one in Morningside this week. Looks great!
 
satanboy said:
If that student parks like that, I don't want to know what type of menace he/she is on the road.
Click to expand...

Or as a result of the person to his left that parked badly !?

Or maybe the person to the left of the left ... Parked badly. Causing the domino effect
 
Hardcore BMW M2 CSL under development with 400bhp

Track-focused coupe will be lighter and more powerful; CSL to replace GTS name

A hardcore version of the BMW M2 coupé is under development and looks set to bring the CSL nametag back to production for the first time since 2004.

The M2 CSL, due as a run-out model at the end of the current M2's production life, will follow the form of the E46 M3 CSL with a stripped-out interior, bucket seats and weight-saving carbonfibre parts.

It will produce around 400bhp from a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine that’s likely borrowed from the M3 and M4. Sources believe this S55 unit will be used in detuned form rather than a highly strung version of the M2’s older N55 lump, due to the increased reliability and improved responses the newer technology enables.

Drive will still be sent exclusively to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual or seven-speed DCT dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Despite the performance benefits offered by the latter, market demand for driver-focused cars will ensure the manual remains standard.

BMW has been encouraged to produce the M2 CSL following sales for the regular model that have far exceeded predictions. BMW M vice president Dirk Hacker told Autocar that this is making special editions easier to justify, even in today’s uncertain economic climate.

“The M2 is tracking at 40-50% above our expectation in terms of sales, and demand for cars like the M2, or GTS and CS heritage models, is growing,” he said. “Any car that has true heritage to motorsport is an opportunity for us. New markets are always opening for those cars and that will increase, so long as we keep building cars that are sufficiently special.”

Our source dismissed rumours that the M2 CSL will arrive at the same time as the M2 facelift, which is due to go on sale next year. Development cars for that model have been spotted on the road and at the Nürburgring, showing minor aesthetic changes that will be applied to the car’s bumpers and lights. Larger brakes will also be fitted, suggesting more power could be extracted from the N55 engine.

The reintroduction of the CSL name to BMW’s line-up marks the end of the line for GTS models, leaving the M4 GTS as the final car to use the moniker. CSL was chosen due to its longer history, having first been used on a homologation special version of the CS, the 3.0 CSL, in 1972. The L was added to designate the car's lighter weight.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/hardcore-bmw-m2-csl-under-development-400bhp
 
BMW M won’t build a four-cylinder engine, unless…

The BMW M2 employs an inline six-cylinder engine.

Mercedes-AMG might offer a high-performance four-cylinder engine in the A45, CLA45 and GLA45, but the head of BMW M says he has no plans to go down the same path.

Unless, that is, he can find a way to include electrification without adding considerable weight.

Frank Van Meel, who heads up the Bavarian automaker’s performance division, told CarAdvice that – for the foreseeable future, anyway – six-cylinder engines (along with the odd V8) were still the way to go for BMW M.

“We are really happy with our six-cylinder because for BMW and BMW M that is our heritage engine. We started with the six-cylinder in the M1 so it has a long history. BMW is a six-cylinder inline company and, for us, it’s an iconic engine,” Van Meel told the Australian publication.

“If you look at it with a four-cylinder, I don’t see characteristics that I would like on an M car, on a small displacement turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

“I wouldn’t do a four-cylinder standalone turbocharged with high performance, because you always have the characteristic that if you want high performance you lose the low-end torque and you lose the overall driveability you want to have from the car,” he explained.

While adding an electric motor could potentially solve such issues, Van Meel raised the point that a hybrid powertrain would add serious weight.

“Electrification would help because low-end torque is done with electric motors. On the other hand, you are putting a lot of weight into the car, so that answer is not so easy. To say ‘just do it’, you lose the motorsport topic of power-to-weight ratio which is very important with overall weight.

“So, at the time-being, it’s a dilemma – but we are working on that with our project ‘i’ colleagues to have a look at the next generation of battery cells, regarding weight, power, density and range to find the right tipping point to say ‘now it makes sense to go in that right direction’. But today is not the right time.”

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/bmw-m-wont-build-a-four-cylinder-engine-unless/
 
FiestaST said:
Lucky student!

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Very nice :D

I went to Varsity College Sandton, between 2010 and 2013, I remember seeing many M3s and 135s, there are some very lucky students out there, lol.

One is just lucky to have a car at that point.

Love the Facelift M2, they have finally corrected those tail lights.
 
BMW planning more driver-focused GTS and CSL models

Company bosses weighing up what they believe could be a growing market for increasingly driver-focused cars

More hardcore versions of the BMW M2 are under development, with company bosses weighing up what they believe could be a growing market for a suite of increasingly driver-focused CSL or GTS versions of their cars.

Recent spy pictures suggest that BMW is already testing an M2 CSL on the road. Insiders suggest BMW will use a detuned version of the S55 turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine from the M3 and M4 rather than a highly strung version of the M2’s older N55 unit, due to the increased reliability and improved responses the newer technology enables.

Drive will still be sent exclusively to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual or seven-speed DCT dual-clutch automatic gearbox. Despite the performance benefits offered by the latter, BMW M vice president Dirk Hacker confirmed to Autocar that market demand for driver-focused cars will ensure the manual remains an option.

“The M2 is tracking at 40-50% above our expectation in terms of sales, with almost half of buyers specifying a manual,” he told Autocar. “Demand for cars like the M2, which is probably our purest M product today, has surprised us, and that opens opportunities for building more extreme cars, in the vein of GTS and CSL heritage models.

“Any car that has true heritage to motorsport is an opportunity for us. New markets are always opening for those cars and that will increase, so long as we keep building cars that are sufficiently special.”

Sources suggest that the M2 CSL will arrive after the standard model’s facelift, which is due to go on sale next year. Instead, it is likely to go on sale 12 to 18 months later, as the M2 approaches runout.

The choice of the CSL moniker is also relevant. It was first used on a homologation special version of the CS, the 3.0 CSL, in 1972. The L was added to designate the car's lighter weight. It suggests that the GTS name, which is currently in use on the M4, will be reserved for faster but potentially bulkier versions of larger, more powerful cars.

The development of more enthusiast focused cars is believed to be being driven by increasing customer demand among traditional M car buyers; while M sales continue to grow significantly, much of the increased demand is coming from new markets or from widening the appeal of the cars with, for instance, broader dynamic capabilities.

To this end, Hacker confirmed the M2 is likely to be the last M car offered with a manual gearbox, saying: “I like manual very much, but the take up rate from customers on cars other than the M2 is just going down. The fact is that a double clutch gearbox delivers better performance and efficiency.”

However, he did hint that the next generation M3 and M4 may not have to follow the M5 in using a four-wheel-drive system. “We will increase the power of these cars, but we don’t want to increase the weight,” he said. “We’ll use four-wheel drive where we need it.”

Hacker also ruled out ever making a front-wheel drive M car, saying: “You have to be able to feel the car with through the steering and the throttle. Today, there is no solution for front-wheel-drive.”

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/bmw-planning-more-driver-focused-gts-and-csl-models
 
Farewell, Manual M Car? BMW M2 May Be The Last…

The vice-president for engineering at BMW M says that the M2 is likely the last vehicle the high-performance division will offer with a manual gearbox.

Dirk Hacker confirmed to Autocar that demand for manual transmissions on larger BMW M products was dwindling.

“I like manual very much, but the take-up rate from customers on cars other than the M2 is just going down. The fact is that a double-clutch gearbox delivers better performance and efficiency,” he told the British publication.

Hacker went on to confirm that the success of the rear-wheel-drive M2 had created an opportunity for the performance arm of the Munich-based automaker to build “more extreme” versions of the vehicle.

“The M2 is tracking at 40-50% above our expectation in terms of sales, with almost half of buyers specifying a manual,” Hacker told Autocar.

“Demand for cars like the M2, which is probably our purest M product today, has surprised us, and that opens opportunities for building more extreme cars, in the vein of GTS and CSL heritage models.

“Any car that has true heritage to motorsport is an opportunity for us. New markets are always opening for those cars and that will increase, so long as we keep building cars that are sufficiently special,” he explained.

The Autocar report speculated that the rumoured M2 CSL would employ a detuned version of the S55 turbocharged 3,0-litre straight-six unit from the M3 and M4 rather than an uprated version of the M2’s current N55 unit. And, of course, it’d remain rear-wheel drive with the option of either a six-speed manual or seven-speed DCT.

http://www.carmag.co.za/news_post/farewell-manual-m-car-bmw-m2-may-be-the-last/
 
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