Summarize

BMW M2 Competition

M2 Competition brings that devil out


Every once in a while, a car comes along that blows your mind. This is one of them.

I was fortunate enough to learn to drive in my dad’s orange Alpina tweaked BMW 2002ti. I was ten when we went to fetch it in Durban - straight off the ship and I itched to one day drive it everyday. The old man let me drive it in the Kruger Park and when I turned 18 we still had the car and I drove it every day. 

Let’s just say it taught me the limits pretty well — that car was still good for a six-second 0-100 ten years later — let’s just say I was king the king of the local streets. Wow — there’s another stunning car I wish we still had!

Which is why this M2 is such a special car — look, it’s a bit of overkill with a 302kW biturbo straight-six pushing double the power of the old 2002’s big brother CSL while pretending to pose as a 100kW twin-Solex side draught ti (although Mario’s 2002ti had closer to 140kW, quite a bit more than the 2002 turbo, too!), but man, did this ‘little’ M2 Competition bring back some special childhood, teenage and early adult (really!) driving memories?

Perhaps the most extreme small BMW since the ti and turbos, like the 2002, M2 is a cut above the rank and file and Competition is even more so - its a a thrill-a-minute, whatever way you drive it. Looks the part too – blackened kidneys and kit, splendid 19-inch alloys and carbon-rich M kit everywhere from the gills to the wing mirrors to the diffuser to define true racing character.

Under the bonnet, track tested dual mass-optimised turbochargers sharpen response and high-revving panache to the tune of a crackling M sport exhaust adaptable your required wan at the touch of a button. Competition’s 302kW biturbo petrol  straight-six hooks up to a 7-speed DSG box turning the rear end through a BMW M-diff that’s at its happiest laying rubber and belching tyre smoke, flat out sideways to the compliment of that brutal soundtrack. Reminds me of my youth, yeah!

Carbon struts make for a stiffer front end and more precise turn-in to lean on – the perfect car to bring the devil out in you. M2 is head and shoulders above anything else we have driven of late in sheer driving pleasure, and best of all, it’ touches a very sweet spot for me —  a little orange 2002ti sweet spot indeed!
 
ROAD TESTED: BMW M2  Competition                         
Engine: 302W 550Nm2996cc biturbo petrol I6     
Drive:  7-speed DC RWD                                    
TESTED:                                           
0-100km/h:     4.36 sec                   
0-160km/h:     10.23 sec     
400m:              12.5 sec @ 186km/h  
80-120km/h:   2.51 sec     
120-160km/h: 3.56 sec                           
CLAIMED:                                                                        
VMax:             272km/h                         
Fuel:               9.0 l/100km        
CO2:               206g/km    
Warranty/Service: 2y Unl /5y 100Kkm 
LIST PRICE:     R1.02M 
RATED             86%