UK VERDICTS
BMW M2
TESTED 18.3.25, OXFORDSHIRE DELIVERIES NOW
Uprated engine and fettled chassis for facelifted junior performance car
When the secondgeneration M2 was launched, it couldn’t escape comparison with the preceding M2 Competition, and sure enough it wasn’t quite as compact, thuggish or lovable.
Only two years on, it’s getting a model-year update to bring it in line with the rest of the lower half of BMW’s range. Munich is on a big renewal spree: Series 1 through 4 and the X3 have all been updated in the past year. Some are quite substantial, as with the 2 Series Gran Coupé on p30, but you would be forgiven for not noticing the changes to the 2 Series Coupé, on which the M2 is based.
As a reminder, despite sharing most of their model name, those two coupés are mechanically very different. While the four-door is front-wheel drive, the two-door is effectively a shortened 4 Series, making it rear-wheel drive (or four-wheel drive in the case of the M240i xDrive), making a proper Mversion possible.