M2 DRIVEN BMW's ultimate petrol-powered sports car?

EXCLUSIVE If this really is the last hurrah for M division's pure combustion-engined sports car, it's signing off on a high note

- John Mcllroy

THIRD is the gear. It's the one you hold on you the way to 90mph (or even slightly beyond) - by which point your ears will be fizzing with six-cylinder noise and your grin will fill the space between them. If the new BMW M2 really is to be M division's ultimate sign-off for pure-petrol power in a compact sports car package, then blimey, they've nailed it.

Of course, nobody will confirm that this is the case. And there's bound to be at least a hardcore M2 CSL between now and 'the end'. But the basic principle probably holds true: just like its rivals Mercedes and Audi, BMW is not immune to the need to stick complex hybrid and pure-electric powertrains into its cars, and its M sub-brand can't avoid that trend forever. This is our first chance, then, to see if what could well be the M2's final chapter stacks up.

The recipe looks promising. The new G87 generation gets its own take on BMW'S S58-codenamed 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged motor, producing 453bhp and 550Nm of torque. That power figure is about 50bhp up on the previous M2 Competition, and the performance figures are a little more punchy as a result; 0-62mph takes 4.3 seconds if the car has a six-speed manual gearbox (a £545 option in the UK), and 4.1 seconds with the new eight-speed automatic.

The chassis, meanwhile, has a longer wheelbase than the old M2's, but at 2,747mm, it's still 11cm shorter than the current M4 Coupé's. Significantly, the new M2 matches that larger's car's front and rear track widths. There's also an active M differential and adaptive suspension.