2018 BMW M2 Competition – Everything You Need To Know

Thabiso Malimela

In recent years, BMW reminds me of those heroes and heroines who when you order a batch of deep fried chips, go the extra mile and put extra sauce or extra napkins even if you didn’t ask for it – not all heroes wear capes. Just like the aforementioned God-sent restaurant employees, BMW has once again given us a product that we didn’t ask for or even needed at that. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the BMW M2 Competition Package – a car we never really needed, but absolutely adore either way.

Keeping with the food theme (consistency is key), the M2 Competition Package (CP for short) is to the normal M2 what dunked BBQ wings are to normal hot wings – extra saucy. Most of this extra sauce comes from the fact that engineers from BMW had the brilliant idea of fitting the M2 with the 3.0 litre twin-turbocharged 6-pot from its bigger and “badder” siblings, the M3 and M4. However, in the M2 CP, they’ve had to sizzle the power down to just 302 kW and 550 N.m of torque, which is 15kW down from the M3/M4 while torque figures are identical. If you’re the glass-half-full sort of person, you’ll be glad to know that the M2 CP churns out 30 kW and 50 N.m more than the M2 on overboost. Equipped with the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, the M2 CP will complete the 0-100 km/h sprint in 4.2 seconds, while the 6-speed manual equivalent can only manage to do the same in 4.4 seconds. The top speed sits at 250 km/h but an extra R29 200 will get you the M Driver’s Package which pushes that magic number up to 280 km/h.

The M2 CP also features the same cooling system used in the M3/M4 Competition (central and side radiators and engine oil cooler) as is with the CFRP strut under the bonnet which aids in increasing rigidity of the front end. The Active M Differential, Dynamic Stability Control system, electromechanical power steering and chassis setup however, have instead undergone a nip and tuck treatment to make sure the M2 is still adept at turning its 19-inch rear tyres into smoke.

At first glance, it’s difficult to see what separates the M4 CP to the “regular” M2 when the M2 isn’t even a regular car to begin with. Starting at the front, we find a new, enlarged and sharper high-gloss black double kidney grille along with revised front bumper styling with bigger air ducts for improved cooling – I knew the M2 CP would be a cool car. The now standard adaptive LED headlights are congruent with the facelifted M2 while the side mirrors are redesigned and now look like they’ve been plagiarised from a Transformers robot. Moving around to the rear, you will find LED taillights, a number plate probably written “LOLBYE – GP” and a gloss black quad-pipe exhaust system, which features a pair of electronically actuated flaps which control the amount of non-car people you can annoy on your commutes. Upon entering the cockpit (which I’m sure will be the first thing one will do upon purchasing the M2), you will find some well bolstered leather M Sport front seats with an illuminated M2 badge just below the headrest area. The M Sport steering wheel now features new M1 and M2 buttons which allow the driver to configure engine, gearbox (if the dual-clutch is spec’d) and steering settings separately. The M1 and M2 buttons allow you to save those settings so that you can summon them at just the press of a button. And while we’re on the topic of buttons, the bright red starter button sits on this car’s dashboard like a hippie in a business meeting – it’s very hard to miss.

Altogether, the M2 CP goes on to be greater than the sum of its parts and makes most of the competition (no pun intended) offerings seem mundane in comparison with its performance focused persona. The M2 CP picks up where the previous and now dead standard M2 left off, and with it being the baby M car, will continue to usher in younger customers into the BMW M product range – 2017 saw a record number of sales for BMW’s M division. Many might say that the M2 CP comes too close to the BMW M4 in terms of performance, and they’d be right to say so. These days, the M4 has become more of a grand tourer as comfort and sophistication have increased proportionally with its heft. It seems then, that the M2 is in fact the new M3 and that makes it hard to ignore the possibility of it being a homage to the much loved Gusheshe E30.