The new 454bhp BMW M2 could be the firm’s last analogue sports car, with a recipe that includes a non-hybridised six-cylinder engine, rear-wheel drive and the option to specify a manual gearbox, three features that are sure to appeal to enthusiasts.
Update: Since this guide was published we have driven the latest BMW M2. Click here to read our full BMW M2 Review
2023 BMW M2 styling, dimensions and interior
Thanks to its muscular face, huge blistered wheel arches and substantial rear end, the 2023 BMW M2 looks like a standard 2 Series that’s been imprisoned in a gym and fed a strict diet of protein shake. It looks muscular. Up front, you get 19-inch wheels, 20-inch wheels at the back and up top there’s an optional carbon fibre roof.
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The looks are up for debate, but the fact the new M2 is bigger than the old model can’t be disputed. At 4575mm it’s 114mm longer, but also 11mm lower and 16mm wider. The wheelbase has also increased from 2693mm to 2747mm.
That will be most keenly felt on the inside, where huge sports seats mark the M2 out from a standard 2 Series. You also get a sports steering wheel with red shortcut buttons to the car’s drive settings, flashes of M Sport colours on the doors, and your choice of aluminium or carbon fibre trim pieces.
What else to talk about? How about the 12.9 and 14.9-inch displays that morph together to create screenage that make a TV from not too long ago look tiny? One side of the display takes the place of conventional dials. The centre display takes care of infotainment, although you can still use BMW’s centre scroll wheel to navigate through the on-screen menus.
Standard kit includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, electrically adjustable and heated seats, active cruise control, three-zone climate control, a Harman Kardon stereo and matrix LED headlights.
2023 BMW M2 performance and handling
The new BMW M2 gets the same 3.0-litre, six-cylinder petrol engine as the bigger M3 saloon and M4 coupe. In the M2 it produces 454bhp, enough to get it from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and onto a 177mph top speed when fitted with the optional automatic gearbox and M Driver’s Package.
So it’s quick, but not as downright rapid as the Mercedes-AMG A45 S or Audi RS3, both of which post sub-four-second times, but what the four-wheel drive competition can’t offer is the fun factor of the rear-wheel drive BMW M2 on road and track.
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The new M2 has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential that should make it easier to control out of corners. On top of that, you get a beefed-up chassis, adjustable dampers and a traction control system with 10 settings that’ll help you learn the car’s limits in safety.
2023 BMW M2 price and release date
The new BMW M2 is available to order now with prices starting from £61,495. Order yours today, and you can expect deliveries to start in May.
Options include the aforementioned M Driver’s Package, which raises the car’s top speed from 155 to 177mph, and the M Race Track Package. It gives you the same raised top speed but also adds a carbon roof, carbon bucket seats, carbon fibre interior trims and track tyres.
