Sometimes the cheapest, is the best.
Germans are quite impressive when it comes to their cars, even when its made out of conglomerate of leftovers its still marvelous. That such a car is the BMW 1 Series M, a car that answered the cries of enthusiasts that wanted a BMW that is a throwback to what makes BMW “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” The 1 series M sold out almost immediately and BMW was more than willing to make a sequel to keep fans happy.
Although the 1 Series M was never blessed as an official M car by BMW with its M badge tacked on at the back of its name. The successor still isn’t exactly an official M car but in comparison is one step closer and crowned as the M2. It follows a similar recipe with revised and fancier ingredients.
In the chassis department, the M2 use parts from other M cars but the difference to the 1 Series M is the parts used are more up to date. With the suspension transplanted from the current M3/M4. Like its older brother, The M2 uses a non-M engine with a single turbo (twin scrolled) N55 inline-six compare to the M4’s S55. But the amount of work done to the internals it may as well be categorized as its own independent engine. The N55 found in the M2 have forged crankshaft and connecting rods, cast iron cylinder liners with new piston rings along with new oil drain pump and oil pan. All these changes were done to ensure engine longevity and withstand the enthusiastic driving style the M2 aim to portray. Even with the M2 lacking an oil temp gauge which is standard on full M cars, the engine will rev to a very happy 7k RPM without any worry of overheating or power loss.
An enthusiast approved stick shift is offered as standard but this time BMW also offers the MDCT on the side to boost sales which really isn’t necessary. In fact, sales statistic showed the row your own option is almost three times more popular than its automatic counterpart.
The M2 really is the M car to have. The M3/M4 are great, but just like a lot of high performance cars these days their performance bar has been set so high that no normal human can possibility exploit their full potential. Therefore, you can never have fun like the original M3 was. It deserves every right to be recognized as a proper M. As it embraces the true meaning of the M badge, a driver’s BMW.
As soon as the Intel dropped for this cast, it was for me an instant favorite. It features front and rear tampos and something extremely rare on HWs. Door mirrors. The proportions were beautiful and really did the car justice. Although, the issue of misalign tampos is still present on some cars and still evident on mine with a slightly misaligned roundel on the front, so anyone that is looking for one should take extra time on checking each car or hold off on buying til you find a better one if you have to. Another thing I would recommend will be to do some black out work for the front intakes. It’s amazing how big of a difference it makes the car for something that takes under 30 seconds.