What about a new grille?
The new 2 Series was unveiled by BMW at the start of the month. It didn’t take long for the M2 partially to leak online. Photos of the front bumper of the high-performance coupe were shared on social media by Chinese users days after its debut. Some people, including myself, were skeptical about the authenticity of the images. The front grille design was significantly different from the 2 Series Coupe.
It turns out that the photos of the G87-generation model 2’s front fascia were correct. Our spy team just saw the fast coupe with exposed kidneys. BMW is likely to follow the same path as the M3 Sedan, which has a different grille design than the 3 Series Coupe. This will allow for a visual differentiation between the 2 Series Coupe model and the top-of-the-line range-topping model. BMW doesn’t seem keen on design consistency as the 4 Series Coupe shares the same controversial grille as the M4 Coupe.
BMW has prepared some chunky intakes for its M2 to match a more angular front grille, proving that it is still fashionable to be square in 2021. The headlights of the M2 are different to the 2 Series Coupe’s, but it could just be camouflage.
On this prototype you can see the typical M mirrors, similar to those on the HTML240i. Also visible is the trunk spoiler akin the M Performance model. This 2 Series Coupe is at the top of our food chain. It also has large wheels and a lowered sports suspension. Although this prototype did not have a carbon roof we expect hotter M2s will offer this option to reduce weight and lower the car’s center of gravity.
We are unable to see the interior of this new batch. However, we hope there is a stick-shift transmission as all the other 2 Series Coupe models have manual transmissions. According to rumors, BMW will offer the M2 with a three pedal setup and an RWD-only configuration. The turbocharged inline-6 (detuned to S58) will produce 490 horsepower and 406 lbft (550 Nm), before engineers increase the ante with hot derivatives such as the M2 Competition.
The M2 will have a new dashboard layout, adopting the same side-by-side setup as larger BMW models. We aren’t speculating as showed a test car with the slightly curved glass panel housing two displays for the iDrive 8 setup.
The new M2 will take a while to arrive. We are hearing that production won’t begin until December 2022. BMW will likely unveil the car in the coming months, but deliveries to customers are unlikely to start before 2023. The European-market car will be made at the Leipzig factory in Germany, while the US-spec M2 will be made at the San Luis Potosi Mexican plant. This is where the 2 Series Coupe is manufactured. The M2 will be available in individual colors for the first time.