By Eric Peters
What could be better than a more-than-400-horsepower twin-turbo six, paired with a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive?
How about paying about $12,000 less for it?
In a nutshell, that’s the $62,200 BMW M2, which is a lot like the $74,700 BMW M4.
Just a lot less expensive.
What It Is
The M2 is like the M4 in that both are high-performance versions of BMW four-seater coupes — the 2 and 4 Series, respectively. They are both similar in appearance and layout, but the M2 — being based on the compact-sized 2 Series coupe — is a smaller car than the M4, which is based on the larger 4-Series coupe.
There are also some differences that go beyond size — and price.
The M2 comes only as a hardtop coupe, while the M4 is available as a hardtop or a convertible. It is also available with all-wheel drive, while the M2 comes only with rear-wheel drive.
In a nutshell, the M2 is the more distilled essence of the M4. Both are intoxicating cars — but the M2 will get you there for less.
What’s New For 2023
The M2 returns after a year’s absence with more power and an updated body/chassis based on the updated 2 Series that came out last year.
What’s Good
An M4 in a slightly smaller package — for a lot less money.
A true driver’s car that has room for passengers.
More trunk (13.8 cubic feet) than you get in the larger M4 (12 cubic feet).
What’s Not So Good
No convertible option.
Less tank — just 13.7 gallons — versus 15.6 gallons in the M4.
Back seats are a tighter squeeze for passengers.
Under The Hood
Both the M2 and the M4 have a twin-turbo 3.0-liter in-line six under their hoods. The inline sixes in the M2 and M4 are different, though, in terms of their output.
In the M2, the six produces 453 horsepower and 406 foot-pounds of torque. In the M4, the engine makes 473 horsepower, though torque output interestingly remains the same as produced by the M2’s version of the six.
Even so, performance is nearly identical. Both cars get to 60 in about four seconds flat.
There is one point of difference between the M2 and the M4 and it is that BMW does not offer AWD as an option with the M2.
On The Road
There are performance cars and there are track-day cars. The M2 is both kinds of car.
It is also another kind of car.
A fun car.
The standard manual transmission is what makes it so.
Automatic-only performance cars are less challenging to drive. Almost anyone can drive them, and this takes away from the challenge of driving them. What art is there in pushing the Launch Control button and stomping on the gas? This isn’t to say it’s not fun. But it’s also not the same as holding the clutch in, your right foot bringing up the revs and then letting out the clutch — not too much, too fast, and not too little, too late — while modulating throttle to launch the car, then stabbing the clutch in again while simultaneously pulling the shifter down for second, feeling the engagement as you let the clutch out again and feel the engine’s power connect as the rear wheels skitter just a little.
To do this right takes skill — and therein lies the challenge and the satisfaction.
The M2 isn’t a car that just anyone can just get in and drive. And that is what makes it so special to drive it.
At The Curb
The M2 can be seen as a smaller M4, or the reverse. Both look so much alike it is hard to tell them apart unless you park them side by side. Then you’ll notice the M4 is longer — 189.1 inches end to end versus 180.3 inches for the M2.
This difference also manifests inside, where you’ll find a bit more backseat legroom in the M4 (34.7 inches) than in the M2 (32.2 inches). That’s what you’d expect given the one is bigger than the other. What you might not expect is that the bigger car — the M4 — has a noticeably smaller trunk (12 cubic feet) versus 13.8 cubic feet in the M2’s. This is an odd juxtaposition in that the M4 is more comfortable for four, while the M2 is more able to carry the other two people’s things.
One thing neither have is a gaping, frog-mouth grill, which is something many other BMW vehicles (and vehicles, generally) do have. Probably because they haven’t got anything else — in terms of interesting things like the M2’s smoother-than-liquified butter six, and the manual transmission that goes with it. So they gape in plasticized fury — perhaps angered by what they lack.
The Rest
The fact that the M2 and M4 still come standard with manuals shows that people who take driving seriously still demand them. Emphasis on the latter because all other BMW models are automatic-only. Automatics allow for slightly better fuel economy numbers (on paper) and slightly better performance numbers.
But manuals assure something far more important: how they make you feel.
The Bottom Line
There are many high-performance cars to choose from, but the M2 (and M4) are true driver’s cars.
And there are very few of them left.
Eric’s latest book, “Doomed: Good Cars Gone Wrong!” will be available soon. To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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