Thrill seeker

How does the recipe of award-winning B58 engine mated with all-wheel drive translate in the M2’s performance understudy? We head to Bavaria for our first taste

- Sean Parker

Price: TBC

Engine: 3,0-litre, 6-cyl, turbopetrol

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 285 kW@ 5 500 r/min

Torque: 500 N.m@ 1 900-5 500 r/min

0-100 km/h: 4,3 seconds*

Fuel consumption: 8,10 L/100 km *

Top speed: 250 km/h

CO²: 185 g/km

Rivals: Mercedes-AMG A45 S, Toyota GR Supra, Ford Mustang GT

For many, 2002 Turbo, E30 M3, 1M Coupé and E85 135i are not merely letters and numbers, but vital nomenclature pointing to BMW’s back catalogue of driving thrills. At their core, the recipe comprised a powerful engine (preferably six-cylinder) and rear-wheel drive. In 2022, BMW has deviated from that recipe and equipped the second iteration of the M240i – a car it says is part of the esteemed lineage we mentioned – with xDrive. It worked brilliantly in the M340i xDrive (tested May 2020), but will it dilute the identity of the new compact coupé?

There’s no denying it. A car like the M240i gets petrolheads and aficionados of the Bavarian carmaker going. Now in its second-generation G42 iteration, it is headed to South Africa in the first quarter of 2022. Following in its predecessor’s footsteps, it remains something of a driver-focused black sheep in the 1 and 2 Series compact family as the only model still built around a rear-wheel-drive platform.