[HiFi]

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Hey all
just spent about 40 minutes with the BMW reps at the Motorclassica show in Melbourne Australia going over the M2.

Im fortunate to do quite a lot of work with BMW in Australia so was able to get a fairly unfiltered and private look at the car.

No photos sorry as phones had to be stored before entering, ill do my best to explain what i saw, and feel free to ask questions if I leave anything out.

Ill start by saing that the leaked photos are real - There are no side vents or badging on this M2, or any other body parts that havent been revealed yet. Mirror caps are also indeed body colour.

They have definately gone for a more "angular" design with the front and rear end, the car has a lot of body line creases and quite a pronoucned and blocky front appearance on teh front bar (exactly like the leak from the other day with the 2 guys standing next to it.)
You can see they have tried to marry this with the bulky rear end bumper.

The side sills and the flared front and rear wheel arches are the most impressive thing of the design for me, they are nice and chunky. Definately a missed opportuntiy for BMW to not have a "feature" vent to the rear of the front wheel arches.

There is a boot lip spoiler (body coloured) that is similar to the previous F8x generation.

Front Grills are stretched quite a long way across the front end and are set back off the bodywork, like the M3 and M4. The front headlights are only single lamp not double, which is probably the thing i dislike most about the car to be honest

The Zandvoort Blue is a very very powdery blue, think the lightest shade of Yas Marina. Its lighter even that Hyundai performance blue. I dont think its a great hero colour for the car, and i do think the car will look better in other colours.

Inside, you will find idrive 8 as we all know, and also got to sit in and look at the carbon buckets, the carbon buckets are black with m colour striping throughout. They are the same seat as M3/M4 but in an M2 specific design. What is different however is the leather finish, they didnt feel like merino.

ON the broader interior, you can notice more decontenting from the M3 and M4 in terms of door trims and dash, which is soft plastics or sensatec pieces, rather than leather.

The tri colour "m" graphic on the inner door cards that is on the G42 M240i is also on the M2. Rear seat area almost identical to F87 M2.

Steering wheel is identical to M3 and M4 and the car still has M1 and M2 buttons.

Wheels were the matt black 826M in a staggered 19/20 setup (again see the theme here, same as M3 and M4) with other finishes also available on launch.

Weight wise, the rep said to expect about 1650kg (roughly 3630 lbs) for the manual. Brakes are same 6 pot front/floating rear caliper as the G8x. S58 is also the same, but different engine map.
EDIT - BMW AU just confirmed 335kw (450 hp). will add torque when i know.

It does look better in person - and this is definately a different M2 than the one that preceeded it both in terms of design and capability - and thats OK. Up to the market now to decide but IMO it will grow on people quickly - and they will sell - make no mistake about that.

If i have left anything out or want me to comment on anything else, let me know.

UPDATED WITH MORE:

The rear end is again, angular, and will be the most polarising part for most people.

I think with the wider body, the lights are no longer an issue for me, but that could be because I was distracted by the blocks below each rear light lol

The leaks make the section above the exhausts look a bit bare and unfinished, but in person that part looked fine, its the boxyness of bodywork to the left and right of the exhaust trim finishes that are going to be the polarising part for most people.

Ill also add the front and rear sensors feel like they are a bit of an afterthought, where they had to adjust the shape of the rear reflector housing to fit a larger, round, sensor in.

The front end also has square overhangs in the left and right intake ducts that house the sensors. They definately could have done better with the integration here.

Originally Posted by S4boost

Any confirmation on available colors?

Please dont take as confirmation, but:
- Zandvoort Blue
- Toronto Red
- Brooklyn Grey
- Black Sapphire Metallic
- Alpine White

EDIT: additional testimonials featured in this thread:

Originally Posted by Hash

Hi All,

I don’t want to hijack this thread (happy to start a separate one) but I was also fortunate enough to spend a solid half hour today with the new M2 and the Australian BMW reps at the Motorclassica show in Melbourne.

I was also joined by two friends who both currently own an F87.

First impressions were the recent leaked photos do not do this car any justice. The car looks great however there is a fair bit going on with the aggressive angles on front bar and around the grills; more so than the rear bar. Its definitely something different and unique compared to the smooth and fairly flat lines we’ve seen on everything e46 onwards.

Key Likes:
- overall body and flared arches are imposing and will look great on the road
- side profile is great and whilst it lacks side grilles it gives the car a much cleaner finish
- interior is spot on aside from the average idrive8 and leverages key m3/4 parts such as seats and wheel etc; I didn’t notice the leather on the seats however didn’t feel like merino
- rear bar isn’t as aggressive in real life and works with the protruding rear lights
- wheel design are great and come with a staggered 19” and 20” setup

Dislikes:
- single internal headlights loses the historical bmw appeal
- 100mm diameter exhausts felt a bit large but thatÂ’s subjective
- Zandervort blue has to be one of worst colours bmw has released let alone attempted to pitch as the hero colour; does no favour for the car.

Colours that hifi shared are correct with interior being either black or cognac - note the optional carbon buckets are not all black and had swatches of blue leather etc

Sounds like individual paints will eventually be available but not at release which is a shame as the colour palette is fairly limited - give us a proper blue/navy and a green

My understanding is they’ve already produced close to two dozen cars in different colours; so we’ll be able to see what the car looks like in a more digestible colour come the 12th.

Subjective, but we all walked out saying we would be keen to get one; this will be the last ICE M car with e46 proportions….just need individual colours to come into effect to make the car that extra bit special.

Originally Posted by andrewt

I saw the car in Melbourne today also. A manual in ZB. There were many people being shown the car although no phones were allowed. The car looks very aggressive and will definitely make the current M2 look plain by comparison. I saw a current M2 outside afterwards and it instantly looked less aggressive than I had previously thought.
The rear looks good to me and the angles look better in reality than in the pics that I've seen. I agree with the original poster's comments about the rear especially around the reflector area. The black diffuser is also more visible than in the pics which helps as it seems to disappear in the pics.
I also agree with the comments about the parking sensors especially at the front where they look like an afterthought and have had to have black plastic blocks added to push them out from under the bumper. I felt that the front kidney(?) grilles was the least appealing part of the design as the black grilles looks too set back from the edges.
I liked the side which looks clean and aggressive without the vents. Those fat sills and wide front guards in particular look great. The slim profile of the side windows looks very sporty.
Interior looks great and those carbon seats (said to be the only option in Australia) look amazing. Small patches of blue toward the shoulder area and flashes of red in the lower cutout. Steering wheel looked small diameter but not sure if it's the same as M3/4.

Originally Posted by pw4

Just to add:
I took a look (with the public) at the Motorclassica M2 today. A few things to add:
- I'm 99% sure the flared guards are the same as other 2er, or put another way, all 2ers get the M2 guards. But the panel under the door on the M2 is different and wider. There are no guard extensions as seen on some European sports pack M240i s.
- blue paint is non-metallic, surprisingly.
- tyres on this example were 275/19 front, 285/20 rear Michelin PS4S.
- rear end looks better in person than in the photos I've seen before.
- grille opening is passive (as expected). Grille and lower grille are both gloss black, along with centre of brake duct intakes. Also rear diffuser area.
- headlights are the black shadow-line lights (as expected) ie not the ones with the gold trim
- carbon fibre roof
- carbon fibre trim on dash and centre console
- I think the rear spoiler is the same as on M240i

[LivingInSalt]

So…how did you like the rear end? You barely commented on that part

[HiFi]

The rear end is again, angular, and will be the most polarising part for most people.

I think with the wider body, the rear lights are no longer an issue for me, but that could be because I was distracted by the blocks below each rear light lol

The leaks make the section above the exhausts look a bit bare and unfinished, but in person that part looked fine, its the boxyness of bodywork to the left and right of the exhaust trim finishes that are going to be the polarising part for most people.

Ill also add the front and rear sensors feel like they are a bit of an afterthought, where they had to adjust the shape of the rear reflector housing to fit a larger, round, sensor in.

The front end also has square overhangs in the left and right intake ducts that house the sensors. They definately could have done better with the integration here.

[(K)]

I guess the takeaway is that this will be an M2, just not your daddy's M2.

[HiFi]

going away from looks, my concern is the weight. if its 1650kg, we are getting mighty close to G80 M3 manual which is a lot more practical for most people. I can see this selling well as an alternative to M4 buyers.

[SW19]

Surprised to hear that the M2 has the same M240i m color graphics on the inner doors cards.Does it also have the m colors on the dash like the MY23 M240i in this picture?

Also when you say the M bucket seat leather didn’t feel like Merino,do you think it was Nappa or Vernasca?Could you also see if the leather was just regular leather or perforated?

[HiFi]

Definately no M colours on dash - the door cards were there though.
If i had to guess, i would have thought Nappa but i could be wrong on this and it could indeed be Merino - perhaps i didnt think it was due to the different colour design of the seats. Not perforated either.

[atl_1M]

Was overall stance and width noticeably wider and beefier than M240?

[HiFi]

Originally Posted by atl_1M

Was overall stance and width noticeably wider and beefier than M240?

substantially... The arch flares and side sills are extremely agressive. With spacers and a small drop - the road presence is going to be mighty.

[Game]

Is there any ambient lighting on the front of the dash?

[KevinC]

3630 lbs would be less than many were expecting and a positive development. Thanks for your insights!

[HiFi]

Originally Posted by Game

Is there any ambient lighting on the front of the dash?

Nothing obvious, no - i should have actually asked that. Its strange M240i has it and M2 doesnt.

[ronin13013]

This will be tough to get used too..

[BMWF87Melb]

Originally Posted by HiFi

going away from looks, my concern is the weight. if its 1650kg, we are getting mighty close to G80 M3 manual which is a lot more practical for most people. I can see this selling well as an alternative to M4 buyers.

Great write up!

Now the big question - are you sold and will you be getting one based on what you've seen? Haha

[Project_F87]

Very good write up, thank you! Did you ask if the ducts attached to the headlights are functional in any way?

[HiFi]

Originally Posted by BMWF87Melb

Great write up!

Now the big question - are you sold and will you be getting one based on what you've seen? Haha

Ive got an M3 manual about to land, so I will take delivery of that and maybe consider M2 once individual colours open up.
I dont mind the looks - on the road i do think with some spacers and a drop its going to look good. For me the lack of colours is the issue. I would have liked skyscraper grey as a standard colour. Id want individual if i were to order one.

Having said that, lets see as with my M3 manual coming, I dont think they will actually be very different cars IMO. Ill grab one from BMW for a drive as soon as im able.

[HiFi]

Originally Posted by Project_F87

Very good write up, thank you! Did you ask if the ducts attached to the headlights are functional in any way?

no problem.

I actually was able to lift the bonnet and i was trying to look at the air routing of those ducts but couldnt conclusively tell if they are functional or not. It looked to me that all of the air was coming from the side pods on the front fender tbh. Find out in a few days hey...

[Tag]

Any word on the base price or how much for the CF roof?

Did they mention what the 0-60mph or 0-100kph times are?

From what you describe it sounds like they may be holding back some of the lacking features for the Competition model.

[ScullyD]

Originally Posted by KevinC

3630 lbs would be less than many were expecting and a positive development. Thanks for your insights!

Makes an f87 CS a CSL just by the fact that it's the same HP and almost 200 lbs lighter.

[HiFi]

Originally Posted by Tag

Any word on the base price or how much for the CF roof?

Did they mention what the 0-60mph or 0-100kph times are?

From what you describe it sounds like they may be holding back some of the lacking features for the Competition model.

No word on pricing - usually happens after launch with Australian BMWs. M3 Manual is approx 170k AUD in australia. Im going to guesstimate 140-150k AUD for the M2 Manual.

CF roof likely to be standard in australian M2s (Australian M models are normally heavily specced standard -eg on the M3 we get Heads up display, carbon fibre interior, 360 surround etc as standard as part of the local packaging - we also pay 180k AUD for them though!!)

No performance figures at all sorry. Guesstimate only - 0.2 seconds 0-100 higher than m3 manual. Find out in a few days...!

[W00PS]

Any confirmation on available colors?

[HiFi]

Originally Posted by S4boost

Any confirmation on available colors?

Please dont take as confirmation, but:
- Zandvoort Blue
- Toronto Red
- Brooklyn Grey
- Black Sapphire Metallic
- Alpine White