Today I Bought....
 

A BMW M2 to replace my Z4M Coupe.

I've enjoyed the Z4M but the time has come for a change. I found myself limited in what i could buy for ~£40k that was quicker than my previous car and was no more than 2 years old. The M2 was about the only car i liked that fitted the brief.

Having looked at a few, i put a deposit down today on a 2016 M2 with 5k miles on it. It's virtually as new, the only defects i could find with the car were a couple of stone chips in the protection film where the wheel arch is stretched out just behind the passenger door. Other than that it's immaculate. Has all the toys on it that are available as options other than the sunroof and i discovered that i has a 5 year service package on it that the dealer didn't know about until after we'd agreed a price and shaken hands on the deal!

All being well i pick it up on friday :) Then i need to sell the Z4m which remarkably is worth more than i paid for it 6 year ago :)

I do like them though not really big enough for me with a nipper

You've done well with that Z4. Very well.

are they all auto?

I have 2 nippers and looking at M2 . - epic choice sir!

You can't do a thread like this without pics!!!!!
Really do like the looks of these.

Haha.. I have a couple of two seaters and he does prefer them but his mum won't fit

I applaud your choice of manual sir

Had 2 2016 M2's in for sale at work recently, 1 at £39995 and 1 at £41995, both sold quickly, the dearer one had some optional extra carbon fibre bits on it and slightly lower mileage, good looking and sounding cars :thumbup:

Dealer pics, so may disappear when they take the advert down.
http://www.benzbavarian.com/wp-conte...byshire-14.jpg

http://www.benzbavarian.com/wp-conte...rbyshire-1.jpg

I looked at a 240M a year or so back. The performance was there but the car didn't look special.

This certainly does looks a lot more interesting!

This will hold it's money better I guess

I really like these, they look so aggressive and you recognise them instanly when you see one on the road.

Think I'd happily have one of these over the M4 if I had to choose!

I pick it up at around 3.30pm. Can't wait!

I looked at the M4. They just don't do it for me. Too big and too much of a blunt instrument for me.

Sooo jealous - enjoy!

3 more hours :drive:

Very nice! Good Luck.

Nice choice Rich. Be good to see some interior pics as it's not a car I'm at all familiar with.

Big cars are a liability. Just awkward all round. I know it's a different category altogether but I sold my Daimler recently and that part of my ownership (big old cars) is now history.

I'd say get shot of the Z4 asap.

There's a crazy bubble at the moment where any old tat is perceived to be special. Take a look at the Pistonheads thread on the Ferrari 400i. Those are cars you couldn't give away and for good reason. They are crap. Same as the Mondial. The two worst Ferraris ever made and people asking £40K or more for them.

The Z4M doesn't fall into the crap category but it does fall into the category of silly money for an old car which is all pervasive at the moment. It won't last so get out while you can and laugh all the way to the bank.

I'll take some photos of the interior later. The interior is a nice place to be but not that special. Its very much standard 2 series with leather seats and a few bits of Alcantara and Carbon scattered around.

I agree 100% on the Z4M. Coupe prices are substantially greater than the Roadster prices. It is a good car and quite rare, but I can only assume that people think that Coupe prices will go the way of the Z3M coupe and that is driving the prices up. I'll be selling it fairly quickly and its getting close to the time of year when 2 seater sports cars start to sell quickly.

Cracking colour! Really like the look of these & would be interested to know how you get on.

Interior photo as requested by Gadaffi. Its pleasant, but very much standard 2 series BMW with a bit more carbon fibre trim and few bits of alcantara replacing leather.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...ecce9dc632.jpg

Car on the drive for when the links to the dealer's website breaks
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...15cfeb8617.jpg

I do like the M2 a lot. I bought my previous Z4M Coupe as an upgrade to my S2000 and liked that a lot too. But after 7 years of ownership i fancied a change.

Compared to my Z4MC (and if you ignore depreciation) this is a practical, economical car :D It has 4 seats (first 4 seater i've owned since i was 22), the annual road tax is nearly half that of the Z4MC, fuel consumption is better (average of 31.5mpg on the M2 vs 26.4 on the Z4MC) and it has a 5 year service package on it so overall running cost will be lower.

Performance wise, the engine has massive torque from low revs and will happily rev up to the red line. It is slightly quicker in a straight line that the Z4M but the performance is easier to use as the engine will pull hard from much lower revs so it makes it feel quicker in the real world. 375bhp is never going to be boring. Handling wise, it has loads of front end grip and turns in very well. In the dry the rear is very stable and you can steer happily on the throttle. I'm not referring to full on oversteer on the throttle, but just a changing of the line with a fixed steering input depending on how much power you apply through the rear wheels. It corners flat and with current tyres makes pretty rapid progress. Its a fun car to drive.

In the wet, its a different kettle of fish. There is just too much power for the rear wheels to contain without traction control in the first 3 gears so you have to drive it far more carefully. Its still feels controllable and predictable, but i've not spent enough time in the car yet to be confident to push it in the wet. I'm generally driving like miss daisy when the roads are greasy.

I went for the manual as opposed to the DCT auto and i'm glad i did. Its a much more engaging drive. The car sounds great even with the active noise that plays a synthetic exhaust noise through the stereo. When you change down the engine automatically blips the throttle to rev match and it sounds brilliant.

Negatives- its noisy. A cold start will annoy the neighbors and its not a car you can be inconspicuous in even when driving normally. I'm not a ostentatious type of person and this car and colour is on the limit for me. Tyre noise is also an issue at motorway speeds and there is a slightly annoying combination of tyre roar and exhaust noise at dead on 70mph on some road surfaces. You can't turn off the active noise without coding (which i should be able to do myself with an ODB11 dongle and an app on my phone) so i don't know if its that that is causing the resonance or its just inherent in the car.

All in all, its a much more practical proposition for me to drive day to day. All the tech that you get in a modern car is handy too and my phone integrates with the car much better. Small things like being able to find an address on my phone and send it to the satnav in the car so that its there without me having to find or enter it in the car actually matter. It doesn't feel quite as special as the Z4MC as its just a fast saloon rather than a purpose built sports car, but its still fun to drive so you soon forget that slight downside.

To anyone considering buying an M2, i'd suggest driving one first to see if you can cope with the noise, but other than that its a great car.

Do they all have one exhaust or does this have the M performance option?

One of the other school run dad's had an M4 with the MP exhaust and it sounded bloody awful t

My​​​​​ much older and slower (mature and considered? Haha) M3 is way more acoustically pleasant with an Eisenmann fitted. Turbo cars seem to rarely sound good to my ears though so maybe I am biased.

.Mine has the standard exhaust which i believe has a valve on it that makes it noisier in sport mode, on cold startup and at idle :confused:

There is a M performance exhaust that is louder still and has a noise valve on it that is bluetooth controlled but i don't have that.

A BT exhaust valve sounds a bit nuts. I quite like a loud car, I think a mis spent youth means it's often louder to others than me ;)

Road noise is usually caused by drumming of poorly damped panels - that's not difficult to address. I'd bet on the rear arches or rear quarter panels / boot floor or the panel behind the rear seats. The S2000 was particularly poor in that respect and it's where the spare tyre used to sit that is the biggest culprit of it.

Ask on the forums if anyone has put a significant sound system in ( they usually go mad with sound deadening ) and see if that reduced it.

The road noise is primarily tyre noise. It may be down to the OE supplied Michelin Pilot Super Sports as apparently the continentals that are also an OE supply option are quieter. I'll be keeping the car standard so i'll live with it for now.

Good write up covers the good and the not so good. What I might be in but for finding a garage queen and buying a garage on wheels :p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp1O...ature=youtu.be

In case you were planning on modifying it :D

Evolve are messing about with an M2

https://www.evolveautomotive.com/blog/bmw-f87-m2-gts.html

I don't think they have got a lot more grunt out of it and appreciate you're not modding but worth a look. I think they are regarded as relatively 'realistic' about their gains

I had my primary cats removed and a remap by these guys, they seem to know what they're doing and it's made my car a bit more entertaining to drive :)

They reckon around 445-450bhp from that mod? Tough to get much from the S65. The M2 has a derivative the early 135i which is also used with twin blowers in the M4 I believe.

But it's already fairly highly tuned so less wiggle room.

Not that it needs more grunt :). Overboost gets you a ton of torques in this car

Yeh mine went from 425 to 450 on their dyno, the extra power is there from mid range onwards and you can feel it being a bit more pokey when overtaking on the motorway etc.

I just wanted a bit more noise from the MPE which is now perfect, it sounds awesome when cruising but a bit raspy higher up when on it.

Wowzah

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-germancars/bmw-m2-competition--official/37883

Might be quite collectible

they wont make a faster M2 than M3.. even though they probably just have, if you see what i mean

CSL is dead i think.. when was the last one?

i like it. but.. and this is a big butt for me, being a grumpy old man.. it's 1550kg

that's a lot i think.. i know it has 4 seats and all that but it's a lot. it's 100kg less than my e92 though. my major gripe with that is weight but i washed it and started it tonight and i'd miss that sound :(. will probably flog it this year

They're worth peanuts these days, might as well keep it :)

That logic has worked so far :)

i actually got in touch with Sytner about the M2 comp then woke up and realised I have virtually no use for it haha.. I drive my lad 3 miles to school and collect him in a car and the rest of my day to day is on the bike.

i've done 2k in it this last year and that won't change next year I guess.. maybe down as one of my cars was in bits for a few months.

so flog it and get a crf450x it is haha

Oh that's not a lot no

I've done over 20k in mine in 18 months I think!

The new M2 competition is even heavier. An extra 40 bhp but an extra 55kg. BMW say the price point doesn't allow enough margin to make it worth them spending money on weight saving measures....

Most of the time i don't really notice the weight of the car as it feels nimble. But i had to do some heavy braking from motorway speeds when the Fiesta ST thought it would pull out into my path from a slip road and try to race me the other night and had misjudged my speed. The brakes are excellent but a lighter car would have slowed faster and i wouldn't have had had such a brown trouser moment!

I've got a deposit on an M2 Comp - it's due to arrive in September

All the M Performance parts were annouced today:

https://f87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1492934

Lots of carbon available to drop some of that excess weight....

Chris.

You'd be spending big dollar to drop that weight

I recall seeing a carbon'd up M135i years ago, base price iirc was c£30k, this one was £47k

To be honest, i'm not sure it needs more power. It'll spin its wheels in the dry in 3rd gear if the road is at all bumpy.

Looks like they're trying to keep the base price low by offering the bits that really make a difference as options.

@ Chrisr111- have you decided on the options yet?

I can't spec it until later this month when UK dealers get their price list from BMW.

But I have a good idea what I'm going to go for: DCT, big brakes, HK, LEDs, keyless access, ugly kid glass, reverse camera, carbon front splitter, carbon boot lip, carbon diffuser, carbon mirrors, carbon roof, M performaance exhaust, M performance/BBS wheels, Alcantara steering wheel.

Why do you ask?

Chris.

that looks an expensive list Chris.. regardless i am sure it'll be a hoot to drive (I'd still go manual i think)

the child in me (roughly 97.9% of me) loves it when a manufacturer creates something like that car. I like the purist CSL approach too but i think just shoe horning an engine into a small car has a certain charm

Clio V6, 135i.. you cannot help but smile

Just interested really. Not the seats? The standard ones are quite good but they don't add anything to the interior over a non M 2 series. The new ones from the M3/4 look much better.

I think the M performance exhaust will be fitted as standard. I'm also lead to believe that the carbon roof is not factory fit and is intended to be fitted by a bodyshop post delivery of the car. :eek3: Would be interested to know how much weight it will save.

Carbon roof and the upgraded seats with the carbon bits you're proposing make the competition model a worthwhile upgrade and more than the parts bin special i accused it of being in a previous comment.

I found this on cutters:

CF bonnet/hood: -9kg / -19.8lbs
CF roof: -5kg / -11lbs
CF side panels/fenders: weight not listed, guesstimate, -3kg / -6.6lbs, ea
CF boot/trunk: -6kg / -13.2lbs
MPE: -8kg / -17.6lbs

What's the charge for saving you the weight of a small passenger?

The M3/4 style seats with the illuminated logos are standard fit on the M2C in the UK (optional in other markets).

The M performance exhaust has a stainless centre section, titanium rear section/backbox and the tailpipes have the slipover carbon trim - it's defo optional not standard fit.

I'd heard that the roof is dealer fit (or at least bodyshop fit) - the same as all M Performance parts in the UK (US customers can opt for M Performance parts to be fitted at the port before their car arrives at the dealer).

Chris.

I think the stock M2 has a variant of the previous gen M3 seats, I think these are bloody excellent

Chris.. will you map it? I imagine plenty of extra grunt is available.