This then is the new BMW M2 Competition. Now there are various tiers to the BMW M hierarchy,
at the top are CS models, then there are Competition models, like this one, then come regular high
performance M cars such as the regular M2 and M5 and then finally there are M performance
cars so anything with an M prefix like say an M550d xDrive touring. This then is the
M2 Competition so it is a more hardcore version of the regular M2 which is a car we already
like and is already relatively hardcore, it’s kind of old school but not old fashioned if
you like. This one is a manual, which is cool too so the M2 competition is shaping up like
a good car isn’t it? I mean it’s relatively compact so it’s the right size, it has the
right engine, it’s got the right weight balance, it ought to be a good fun car.
The Competition takes all that and turns everything up a little bit, you still only get passive
dampers, you still don’t get, oh you get throttle blip! You don’t get carbon ceramic
discs but you can uprate the brakes, this one has it and I’ve just sat in it, so you’re
learning as I do. We’re at a place called Ascari which is in Spain, not far from Malaga,
it’s a long circuit, it’s not a race track, per se, it’s somebody's sort of personal
handling circuit if you like. Alright, first thing I can tell you is it feels louder than
the regular M2. It sounds really nice actually thus far. So the M2 Competition gets a bit
less sound proofing, a bit more power, it gets a strut brace at the front. Suspension
isn’t vastly different, I’ll go into detail on that in a minute out on the road I think
but the upshot is is that it is a more hardcore version of the regular M2. The steerings more
precise so you get more back straight away, changes direction better, wow it changes direction
really nicely, it’s got an M-differential that hooks up, just as you turn in there and
get back on the power you can just feel it squat down. I’m at the moment in the standard
DSC mode. Yeah, you can feel the diff just hook up and it keys in, the standard M2 is
good, this is really, really nice. Still plenty of torque, it’s got a turbo charged 6-cylinder
engine that produces a decent amount of torque from low revs so you don’t need to be totally
up it all the time, you don’t need to rev it all the way to the other side of 7 I don’t
think. Just feel the traction control slipping in but even though this is in the standard
mode it’s not too nannying, it’s not too in your face, this is a really nice car, this
is a really nicely balanced, agile, responsive car, even more responsive than before I think
because of the bracing at the front which just gives that extra steering and precision
and that extra bit of turn in and agility. The key competitor I think for the M2 has
always been Porsche’s 718 Cayman and the 718 Cayman always did keener things, that
mid engined balance means that it’s quicker to respond to turn in, the fact that the weight
is closer to the middle meant that it’s more agile and even though you could slide
the M2 I think probably more easily, the 718 just has that better sports car thing about it.
This sets out to redress some of that balance I think and really does it, as far as I can tell, really expertly.
Just a tiny bit of understeer there, that’s with MDM2, so I moved into the sports ESC mode
so it’s still on but it really does allow a nice bit of slip, there’s a tiny bit of
high speed understeer but if you just come on the brakes as you turn and then even though
that’s only 4000 revs on so we’re not right in the power peak, it’s got enough
power there in fourth at 4000 revs to just balance the chassis on the way out of a fast
corner. This is a really nice car, I’m liking this a lot. So that’s second, that’s MDM
on and it’s allowing a nice amount of slip, this is cool, this is really, really cool.
Yeah, you know what, on a track day I think it probably is suit to tight twisty circuits,
it doesn’t feel overly harshly sprung, I think on a track day this would be a really
great thing to drive, really good fun, really, really good fun, I’m liking this a lot.
What’s it like as a road car? Well stay with me, I’ll run you through some technical
details and then we’ll head out onto the road and find out what it’s like as a road
going car. What changes then between the M2 and the M2 Competition? Well the big news
is the new engine, previously the M2 had a single turbocharged straight-six which it
now replaces with the engine effectively from the M3 and M4, it has two turbos instead of
one, or be it here it’s detuned to 404bhp, rather than the M4’s 425bhp. There are bigger
brakes too and a new exhaust, it has electronically controlled flaps for a bit more noise but
I think the biggest difference in the way the M2 Competition drives will come from the
chassis changes. There is a wishbone shaped engine bay brace, the M4 has one of these
too and there’s a re-tuned steering map plus rose jointing in the rear suspension.
The stability control has been re calibrated and new spring and damper settings finish
the job, BMW says of improving response and on limit handling. What it means for the ride?
We’ll find out. Other changes are limited to improve the cooling, which adds a little
weight, plus there is new wheels, optional seats and different door mirrors but the general
goodness of the M2 remains in tact. So what does all that translate to as a road car?
Well the ride is still relatively pliant. There is an extra amount of steering feel and response and feedback
to it, it’s really precise now, really nicely precise actually whereas some M cars, when
they arrive they have steering that is accurate enough but a little bit wooly round the edges. This
feels really, really, absolutely tip top, you point it goes and there is also, because
of the changes to the rear, there is also a little bit more accuracy to the way the rear follows
the front as well so although there is some bump absorption and everything else, it just
steers with a keenness that was not there before, makes the car feel lighter and the
engines extra zing is really welcome to, it makes it, you know, it’s a real part of
the immersive experience now that engine note, it’s a great engine note to be fair, so
smooth. The stability control is not too disruptive, even on the road though you pop it into the
MDM which is the kind of half off mode, it just allows a bit more slip before it gets involved,
that just liberates some of the handling characteristics on the right corner where you can see for
miles and you just, you know, a slow ish corner with a nice exit just helps you straighten
it a bit on exit. It’s just a really good car to drive, this, a really good car to drive.
So that’s the question isn’t it, ultimately how good is it? Because the last one had a
better engine, the last one, the current M2, which this competition effectively replaces
because there’s no reason why you’d have a regular M2 when the Competition is this
good. So what do the changes that felt so good on track translate to on the road? It
doesn’t take long to realise that actually the same feel and interaction that you got
on circuit, you can access very easily on the road as well. The changes to the suspension
are not fundamental but the little tweaks that there are make a big old difference.
That strut brace at the front just seems to give an extra amount of stiffness which translates
back into the steering rack so the steering is much more precise. This one is a manual,
you can get a twin-clutch but I think the manual is a nicer car for this kind of old
school sports hatch, sports coupe where you don’t have adaptive suspension, you don’t
have carbon ceramic brakes, it’s just a very straight forward front engine rear drive
sports car and that engine has really liberated a bit of extra verve from it as well, the
gearbox is good, the gearshift is good but on roads like this, on a lot of roads actually
you’re only changing gears for the fun of it, you could let this turbocharged engine
lug it out from low revs where it really helps exploit the chassis and that is where we are
I guess, the first generation M2, it had an engine that was better than the Cayman, handling
that was not quite as good and I think the Cayman remained the better sports car. This
time around the engine has gone up yet another notch so the engine is better again than the
four-cylinder in the Porsche and the handling and the response and the feel and the goodness,
all of those bits that make your fingers tingle when you’re going along the right road,
I think now is pretty much there. It’s got to be really close to the Porsche, I’d love
to try the two back to back, it’s got to be pretty much there. I think this is now
then the best mid range sports car you can buy.