I’m going to start this review by venturing an extremely unpopular opinion. Modern sports cars are extremely pointless to the enthusiast. It’s turned into a bit of a numbers contest. And since they are basically undrivable in their absolutely unleashed forms they have to be bubble wrapped in a labyrinth of safety net after safety net to ensure that the old men driving them don’t end up offing themselves on their way to the next drive-thru or golf club or wherever it is people take most supercars. Sure, some of them do end up as track cars, but I’ve rarely seen a track day regular show up with a bone stock supercar. For the real enthusiast, those that really love driving, where it’s at is the 400-500bhp, seats two, occasionally four. That should explain why the last generation of the BMW M2 was the singularly best-selling M-car of all time. This new one is a little more expensive less democratic and all, but is a full level up, hear me out.
Here are the headlines, this is the new generation of the M2, codenamed the G87 and no facelift-y cosmetic job either. Ground up new. That means while it still is underpinned by the new generation of 2-series, it’s stiffer, sharper but perhaps most importantly under the hood is the 3.0-litre S58. That’s the same twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight six that’s under the hood of, both, this present generation of M3 and the M4. Slightly detuned to 460bhp, but still belting out 550Nm of glorious tarmac churning bliss. You could have it with the, quite a bit faster 8-speed ZF, or the 6-speed manual. I reluctantly will admit that both gearboxes make an equally convincing case for themselves, right before justifying the 6-speed manual for reasons that only a few might relate to. But we’ll get to that later.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Auto Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Auto Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
50 Shades Of Touring
Building on the core of an already capable iX the xDrive50 brings performance and touring range to BMW's flagship electric SUV
Mercedes EQS SUV To Arrive Later This Year
MERCEDES-BENZ INDIA has big plans for 2024. After achieving its highest-ever sales in 2023, the luxury carmaker has grand plans to introduce 12 new models this year including three electric vehicles and most importantly, the EQS SUV.
A HERO'S TALE: MAVRICK IN THE MAKING
Hero MotoCorp, the world's largest motorcycle and scooter manufacturer is now stepping into the world of premium motorcycles and creating waves already
Hero Vida V1 Plus reintroduced in India
HERO MOTOCORP has relaunched the V1 Plus variant of the company’s electric scooter.
Geneva returns to the motor show calendar
The Geneva International Motor Show Is back to Switzerland and Anagh Bhaskar brings you the highlights
Winds of change
Join us on a 10,000km journey with the Mahindra XUV700 across the country as Dipayan Dutta and Dhruv Saxena share stories of extraordinary women who have gone against the grain to fight for what they believe in
Jaw(a)line Adjustment
Can the significantly updated Jawa finally come out as a real contender in the heavily contested 350cc motorcycle space? We took it out for a spin recently to find out
BYD Seal arrives in India
This is the third product from the Chinese automaker, the first two being the Atto 3 electric SUV and eé electric MPV. Abhinav Jakhar takes a closer look at the Seal
The emperor's new clothes
Hyundai has launched the Creta in N Line guise. So what does it offer and why you should get one? We find out
MG Motor's fresh aspirations
The joint venture between MG Motor India and JSW Group has been a long time coming, but it's finally here. SAlC-owned MG has laid out a plan for the future. Abhinav Jakhar brings you all the details