It’s hard to deny that BMW has really managed to build some range into its lineup of adrenaline-boosting M cars. For every standard model, it seems that there’s a spiky CS B-side, or an unhinged CSL, or a subtly uprated Competition model. The almost Taco Bell-like ability to pull several variants out of the same core ingredients is impressive, and this run isn’t over yet. Just look at the M2, because for the second-generation model’s third year of production, BMW’s offering it with a whole lot more traction.
If you were to, say, line a standard M2 up on an airport runway against an Audi RS3, you’d find the BMW to be somewhat traction-limited off the mark. Alright, very traction-limited, especially in surprisingly explosive CS form. Botch the launch, and you’d be seeing nothing but Audi taillights. In the real world, this isn’t much of a problem, but BMW’s gone and rectified it anyway by chucking 132 pounds of all-wheel-drive hardware at the problem.
Granted, the all-wheel-drive M2 is kneecapped in the weirdest way. In the M3 and M4, ticking the box for all-wheel drive also rings up a 523-horsepower state of tune. However, ticking the same xDrive box in the M2 just means it makes the same 473 horsepower as the standard rear-wheel-drive model while removing the option of a six-speed manual. That’s a 50-horsepower deficit over its bigger brother, but it likely won’t matter to the tube-and-an-email squad. Even in bone-stock spec, the M2 xDrive promises a zero-to-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds, three tenths quicker than a rear-wheel-drive M2 and quick enough to make a lot of fast metal sweat. Plus, have you ever seen the size of a German horse? If history’s any indication, that quoted figure may be on the conservative side.
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Granted, if you do want to have a bit of slidey fun, the M2’s new optional all-wheel-drive system features the same trick as all-wheel-drive M3s, M4s, M5s, and M8s: a rear-wheel-drive-only mode. Which brings us to the weird part of this whole thing: The M2 was always supposed to handle like a puppy on a linoleum floor, sliding and wriggling about through every change in direction. It was a little too juvenile to be so buttoned-down, so why give it all-wheel drive? I reckon it might be because the M4 is a bit big.
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The original two-door M3 was properly compact, a pint-sized terror unleashed on the touring car circuit. Two generations into the two-door’s M4 name change, however, and it’s larger in every single dimension than the E31 8 Series of the early ’90s. You know, the conspicuously large grand tourer with available V12 power. It’s also nigh-on the same length as a 6 Series from the mid-2000s, and brushes up close to the two-ton mark in all-wheel-drive guise. Hell, it’s only two-tenths of an inch shorter than an early-2010s Volvo XC90. The current M4 is a big car, full-stop. That leaves room for the M2 to expand.
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Is it the right direction for the M2? I’m not so sure. It will almost certainly be fantastic in winter, but there’s not much reason to celebrate a car getting heavier. Sure, the updated transfer case control unit is probably brilliant, and the new-to-the-model shade of Boustan Blue looks fabulous, but I can’t help but worry about what this means for the future of BMW’s smallest M car. In an age of all-wheel-drive automatic everything, the standard car being none of those things is a point of identity. Read into that what you may.
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So, if you want a quick, all-wheel-drive, automatic-only coupe that’s about the size of an E90 M3, the new M2 xDrive is probably just what you’re looking for. It’ll enter production soon in Mexico, and while BMW hasn’t announced pricing, we can make an educated guess. If all-wheel-drive carries the same premium here as it does on the M3 Competition, expect a sticker of around $75,000. We’ll know soon enough, and even if this doesn’t tickle your fancy, the M2 xDrive is worth keeping an eye on. Depending on take rates, it could shape the future of BMW’s smallest M model.
Top graphic image: BMW