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By Jonathan Crouch

BMW's M2 remains an addictive track tool in second generation form. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 45

There won't be many more combustion-powered BMW M cars and the brand's second generation M2 brings that era to a close with a bang. It's unashamedly extrovert, politically incorrect and very fast. Choose one and in fifty years time, show your grandkids what they're missing.

Backgroundword count: 152

Is there any other car quite like the BMW M2? The Munich maker doesn't think so, claiming it to be 'in a segment of one' and most of the 60,000 enthusiasts who bought the original 'F87' 2015-era model would probably agree. For BMW, M used to be merely a performance badge; now increasingly, it's a sub-brand, with the current Mexican-built G87-era model these days the entry point to a widening portfolio of rocket-fast road racers. This G87 design first arrived in 2023, then was updated with a bit more power a year later. A limited-run CS model was sold in 2025. And an xDrive model joined the range in Summer 2026. With this second generation M2 design, all attempts at visual subtlety have been dispensed with; if you want that, we'd recommend a look at this variant's less frantic close cousin, the M240i. So what's in store here? Let's take a look.

Driving Experienceword count: 398

The G87-era M2 has always has the six-cylinder in-line BMW M TwinPower Turbo engine that enthusiasts expect, but since 2024, it's developed 480hp (rather than the 460hp figure offered at the original launch). The classic choice is to have this car with its usual rear-driven configuration, in which guise you can choose between manual or automatic transmission. There's also an auto-only xDrive version with the same engine. Whatever format you choose, it's fast the rear-drive auto demolishing the benchmark sprint in just 4.0s. The alternative 6-speed manual model has longer gear ratios that keep it at 4.2s, but its top speed of 177mph is higher (the rear-drive auto's limited to 155mph unless you pay extra for an optional M Drivers Package). The M2 xDrive manages 0-62mph in 3.7s. Possibly most significant with the 2024 powertrain update were the changes made to the S58 straight six engine's mapping for both transmission options, which were supposed to enhance mid-range punch. As with the original version of this G87-era model, the 600Nm torque figure of the auto versions falls to 550Nm with the manual. The switch to the cluster platform used by larger BMWs for this G87 model meant that pretty much all the engineering here could be borrowed from the M3 and M4. The downside of using a big car chassis comes with the inevitable increase in weight, but the engineers are adamant that the advantages of that outweigh the drawbacks. It really comes down to the kind of M2 you want. BMW freely admits that this model's pre-2023-era F87 predecessor was 'a bit more playful' (read as 'looser at the rear end'). This one's grown up a bit, though in rear-driven form, it can still drift and do all that tyre smoking stuff - plus it'll be faster than an F87 in lap time. Not least because it's more powerful than the previous generation model, the output figure being 110hp more than that of the old F87 M2 Competition and M2 CS models. To control all that grunt, there's an Active M differential allowing up to 100% of torque to be transferred to either of the rear wheels. In addition, unlike standard versions of the old F87 M2, there's adaptive damping. Along with punchy 6-piston brakes and a 10-step M traction control system. Track fiends even get an M drift analyser which rates the standard of their smoky slides.

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