Perhaps your opinion of the BMW 2 Series range has declined somewhat with the introduction of the new Ford Focus—I mean 2 Series Gran Coupe. Understandable! So if a Mini-based sedan isn’t your idea of what a 2 Series should be, consider this instead: the BMW M2 CS, the swan song for this great rear-drive coupe. It comes with lots of carbon fiber. Get excited.
The 2 Series lineup is confusing these days, and this generation of the rear (and all)-wheel drive coupe is set to sign off for good soon. But the good news is it will be replaced by another RWD and AWD coupe, because evidently BMW sells enough SUVs to still justify fun two-door cars. The CS is possibly the ultimate evolution of the current car, and it looks promising so far.
Powered by the S55 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six, the M2 CS puts out 444 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. That’s nearly 40 horses more than the M2 Competition and almost as much as the M3. In standard six-speed manual form, it does zero to 60 mph in four seconds flat; with the seven-speed dual-clutch, it’s slightly quicker at 3.8 seconds.
There are a few upgrades here besides the power as well. The M2 CS gets a unique dual-branch exhaust system with electronically-controlled exhaust valves, standard Adaptive M suspension for the first time, and a carbon fiber hood with half the weight of a standard steel hood. There’s also a carbon fiber roof, front splitter, rear spoiler, rear diffuser and door mirrors. Even the center transmission tunnel console is made of carbon fiber too. BMW isn’t listing the exact weight savings over the M2 Competition just yet, but I’m sure they’re decent given all that carbon fiber.
Only 2,200 of these will be built. Pricing has not been announced, nor has the number BMW plans on sending to the U.S. A racing variant, the M2 CS Racing, will be unveiled soon as well.
Update: An earlier version of this story stated the number of cars BMW will send to America; the automaker says it is unable to confirm the exact number of units that will be sent here at this time. We have updated the post accordingly.
