BMW’s M2 Competition is here and it’s probably more than we could hope for.
BMW M2 Competition
No sooner had BMW’s rip-snorting M2 hit the roads we wondered what it would be like if it was closer to the M4 spec. As the bigger M3/M4 reaches the end of its life, BMW faces a bit of a hole in the go-fast line-up. Whenever a new 3 launches, the variants take a while to trickle through, the Ms coming close to last.
So, as the M4 and M3 CS takes the parallel lines to the back paddock (with a bang, granted), Bavaria’s go-faster division is giving us the M2 Competition.
It’s a twin-turbo
Yah-huh. While the M2 has a single turbo N55 delivering a very respectable 272kW (370PS) and 465Nm, the Competition has even more. As if lifted straight from an M4, the M2 now has two turbos to produce 302kW (410PS) and 550Nm. Power is up 30kW (40PS) and there’s a whopping 85Nm extra twist. Let’s have a little reality check here – the M4 Pure has 331kW (450PS) and…550Nm. That means fireworks. Proper, proper fireworks. The M2 is a fair bit lighter, you see.
Max power is available from 5250rpm all the way to 7000rpm while max torque runs from 2350 to 5200rpm.
With the seven-speed twin clutch, BMW says the M2C will hit 100km/h (0-62mph) in 4.2 seconds. Look, I reckon it’ll do a four dead. I think BMW is being modest/sparing M4 owners’ feelings.
The six-speed manual gearbox (a no-cost option in some markets, including Australia) features carbon fibre friction lining to reduce weight. It also has wet sump lubrication which BMW says reduces “sloshing.” I know that annoys me a lot in other manuals.
With extra turbos and power comes extra heat. The M2C’s cooling system is based on the M4 CS’s, with a bit central radiator, two smaller radiators off to each side and a separate oil cooler.
A new bi-modal four-outlet exhaust – with black chrome tips – should make the right noises and look the part.
Chassis
The basic M2’s chassis is a proper sparkler. I know I keep saying it, but I reckon the M2 redefined modern M car. While the current M4 is a terrific thing, it wasn’t until the M2 and then the M4 CS that I truly felt the heights of the E92 were back – and surpassed.
Suspension is by forged aluminium control arms and the rear axle subframe is mounted rigidly to the chassis. A carbon fibre strut brace – weighing just 1500g – snakes around the engine bay and looks amazing.
Between the rear wheels the Active M Differential works hard to keep things straight and/or fun. When you’re in Sport+ this thing is already fun personified, so with all that extra grunt…I dunno. It’s going to be quite something.
The M2C has steering wheel mounted M1 and M2 buttons to activate personalised dynamic setups. Not only that, they activate M Dynamic Mode which means plenty of tail-waggling fun and a turn in so sharp it’ll split you in two. I can’t stress enough how much a limited-slip diff can transform a car and an M diff is brilliant when done right.
If you’re super-keen, BMW will sell you a set of 19-inch forged alloys with Y-shaped spokes. They look mean.
Also available as an option is the M Sport brake system. That means 400mm discs up front and 380mm at the rear. The front callipers are six pot monsters, the rears four. There isn’t much wrong the M2 brakes to start with, so these will be enormously strong.
Design
Things have changed inside and out. The front bumper and kidney grille are even more aggressive. The kidney grille itself is a slightly different design with a black paint job. The double arm mirrors add a little extra M flavour, with darker badging scattered around.
Open the door and the sill plates let you know you’re stepping into a special. Thankfully, the uninspiring M2 seats have been replaced with much better-looking and presumably more effective front seats that look great. They also have that naff illuminated badge from the M4.
The dashboard is also part-digital, which BMW calls Black Panel.
With all that, it looks and feels more like a proper M car, which is how it drives already.
We’ll get our hands on one as soon as is humanly possible.
I’ve been wanting to drive a Lotus Elise pretty much my whole adult life.
The Lotus Elise Story
Few cars have been on sale for as long as the Lotus Elise. It’s incredibly rare for a car to remain fundamentally the same for two decades. Rarer still for it to remain competitive. But Lotus isn’t your average car company, never has been, probably never will be.
Despite being owned by some pretty serious industrial giants. For a start, General Motors and Toyota shared ownership for a few months in the 80s. Toyota sold their stake to GM and slowly the American giant bought up enough stock to force the remaining shareholders to sell up.
As owners go, GM wasn’t super-great. Lotus Engineering was hugely respected – and still is – as the company to sort your ride and handling. GM did nothing nothing much with Lotus – although it did give us the epic Lotus Carlton/Omega. GM used Lotus’ famed Engineering arm to design the original Ecotec engines and to sort out the dire ride and handling of various GM empire cars.
In 1993 GM sold the company to the delightfully mad Romano Artioli. He was the guy who gave us the Bugatti EB110. Artioli’s money ran out in 1996 when Bugatti went bust and he sold to Malaysia’s national car maker, Proton. Bugatti went to Volkswagen.
Pretty soon after the Asian Financial Crisis hit and Lotus went into limp-home mode. Proton did slap a few Lotus badges on the back of its cars (the Satria GTi was a good laugh), but wasn’t forthcoming with the funds for new models many years.
In 2009 the company recruited Ferrari’s Danny Bahar who embarked on a spending spree and a bonkers model program intended to put Lotus back in the same camp as his former employer. The 2010 Paris Motor Show was a disaster for Lotus – the company showed five new models but nobody believed the company could do it. Bahar wouldn’t – he was fired in 2012, his bosses claiming he had spent company money on decidedly non-company things.
Why am I telling you all this? Because it helps explain why the Elise has soldiered on for so long.
Lotus Elise Series 1 – 1996
In 1996 the Elise launched to critical acclaim. Named after Artioli’s granddaughter Elisa, the car was instantly famous for weighing just 726kg. That incredible number was a result of ingenious design and use of materials – an extruded aluminium tub was stiff, light and strong and cheap to build. The tub itself weighed around 70kg.
The Series 1 shipped with Rover K-Series power, starting with just 88kW (120PS). That’s nothing. A Mazda2 has 81kW. But a Mazda 2 weighs quite a bit more than an Elise and can’t sprint to 100km/h (62mph) in just 5.8 seconds. That’s an astonishing turn of speed for such a small amount of power from what was not a particularly good engine.
The Elise’s hand-built body was made of fibreglass and the cabin a study in minimalism.
I either forgot or never knew that the Elise was produced in Proton’s Shah Alam factory in Malaysia between 1997 and 2000.
Lotus Elise Series 2 – 2000
The Series 2 came about because the S1 didn’t crash the way bureaucrats wanted. There was just one small problem – no money. GM came to the table wanting to build a sports car – the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 – and the Series 2 was born. Power was up, but so was weight, over 150kg in some models.
Bizarrely, the GM car scored Lotus-born Ecotec power while the Elise itself carried on with the K-Series until 2004. It’s not exactly clear why, but Lotus then switched to the 1.8-litre Toyota 1ZZ-FE and later the 2ZZ-FE. Word on the street was that the Rover unit wouldn’t pass US emissions rules, but Rover sources insisted that it would.
The K-Series got the heave-ho when Lotus took the S2 to the USA. By the time the switch happened, the K – with a Lotus-mapped ECU – produced as much as 143kW (195PS) in the Sport 190, but most models ran with considerably less.
The switch to Toyota’s ZZ engines with 141kW also meant changing to a Toyota-sourced six-speed manual. With the Sport package, the Elise could run 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in 4.7 seconds.
Between US regulations and various updates, the S2 was quite different by the time the S3 arrived.
Lotus Elise Series 3 – 2010
The Series 3 Elise meant more changes on the engine and body front. The headlights shrunk as did the size of the entry-level engine, down to 1.6-litres. The drop in capacity didn’t matter much, the Elise still has 100kW (136PS) but also complies with Euro V emissions.
The ZZ engine persisted in the US for a while but the rest of the world took the 1.6-litre 1ZR.
The supercharged 1.8-litre arrived in the range, belting out up to 184kW (250PS) in the Cup 250.
By the end of 2017, Lotus had made over 33,000 Elises.
Spin-offs
No, we don’t mean Nurburgring crashes, but cars built on the Elise’s brilliant platform.
Lotus created the Exige and various track monsters, including the bonkers 3-Eleven 430. The “new” Europa also came from the Elise, before its Evora replacement and its new platform arrived.
Tesla came to Lotus for its first car, the Roadster. Hennessy’s Venom series also used the Elise as a base for its nutty, not very Lotus-ey monsters.
Lotus Elise Sprint 220
And so we come to the Sprint 220. One of six variants, the Sprint is the lightest Elise since the 726kg original. The 1.6-litre powered Sprint ducks under 800kg, but this supercharged 1.8-litre is still on the other side of that figure at around 845kg before fluids. Kerb weight is 878kg
Despite that, it still weighs practically nothing in car terms. A Civic Type R, with a lot more power, tips the scales at over 1400kg. A carbon-tubbed McLaren 570S weighs over 1300kg. Lotus has always done light and this is the key to the whole concept. From a strong, light base, you’ve got a lot of room to move on design and specification of suspension, brakes and powertrain.
Chassis
Built around the extruded aluminium chassis, the Lotus approach of keeping things light means that low kerb weight. The lithium-ion battery saves 9kg, the open shifter another kilo and when you add those to a the carbon fibres bits and pieces, the total adds up to 26kg over other Series 3s. You can cut a further 4kg with the two-piece brake option and a whopping 800g with carbon sill covers.
Saving weight means that every single component has less work to do which means those components are lighter. The front wheels are narrower than even the Toyota 86 at 175/55s around 16-inch wheels while the rears are 225s. Smaller wheels, smaller tyres, smaller and lighter brakes, it goes on. One very unusual feature is a lack of power steering – the Elise goes au naturel.
One of the fascinating things about Lotus is not so much their willingness to mix up its suppliers but the fact they’re happy to tell us who they use and where. For instance, the shocks are Bilsteins and the springs Eibachs. The front brakes are AP Racing twin-piston calipers and Brembo single piston calipers at the rear.
Suspension is by double-wishbones front and rear with an anti-roll bar up front. Instead of a heavy limited slip differential, the Elise makes do with an electronic differential lock.
Engine & Transmission
While the basic Sprint scores a pretty decent 1.6-litre Toyota engine, the Sprint 220 reverts to the 1.8-litre but but with a supercharger. Developing 162kW (220PS) and 250Nm, the Sprint 220 will hit 100km/h (0-62mph) in just 4.1 seconds. Top speed is an impressive 243km/h.
The 1.8 drives the rear wheels via a Toyota-sourced six-speed gearbox. Here in the Sprint it has that lovely open shift gate and it looks incredible.
Driving
Anticipation. It’s a wonderful and terrible thing. This could be the joyous culmination of years of waiting or the end of a long, unfulfilling long-distance relationship.
Everybody knows a few things about the Elise. It’s got some dodgy bits and pieces in the interior. Check. The stereo head unit isn’t great. Check. It’s hard to get in and out of. Check. I have some things to say about these.
Maseratis have lots of horrible bits in the interior. Doesn’t mean they’re not good cars and they also don’t have the excuse of being 22 years-old.
Buy a different stereo. It’s not a big deal.
So is a Lamborghini Aventador S, a BMW i8 and a McLaren 12C. So what?
With that out of the way, on with the show.
Yes, getting into the Elise is difficult, especially with the roof in place. If you’re particularly tall and/or chunky, you will not be able to get in with the wheel in place. Our man Mitch, the genius behind the camera and the edit suite, is a tall chap and could not get behind the wheel, so taller-still Rhys (photographer extraordinaire) had no chance. Second Opinion Steve wasn’t around and I’m glad – I don’t think I could have coped with the rivers of tears.
Once you’re in, what look like uncomfortable seats turn out to be very comfortable indeed. The space is so tight there’s no need for a full-on bucket, like an MX-5. The optional Alcantara steering wheel also looks like it’s in the wrong place but in the seat it’s perfect. The tall shifter is in exactly the right place, a handspan from the steering wheel. The pedals are slim but not so small my oversize feet can hit them all. They’re perfectly-spaced for heel-and-toe, too – no automatic rev-matching nonsense here.
Fire the engine into life, into first and it drives just as you’d expect. Steering is firm but not too heavy – a combination of the light kerb weight and skinny 175 front tyres mean power steering would be a pointless extravagance. This is genuinely the first time I have driven an Elise. To get to our second filming location – the first location was at Simply Sports Cars on Sydney’s North Shore. We had to cross the city and I can’t say I was too pleased with the idea. The Elise, though, behaved perfectly.
Trundling across the Harbour Bridge, under the city’s eastern fringe and down to the southern edge of the metropolitan area, the Lotus was impeccable. Easy to manage (although you’re invisible to SUVs), the torquey supercharged engine meant I could bumble along without constantly changing gears. It was hot – this past summer in Sydney was disgustingly hot and humid – but the air-conditioning kept up quite happily.
Why am I giving you so much detail on that part of the drive? Because it was only the first half. To find out what happens next, watch the video…
If you fancy a Ferrari-engined SUV but can’t wait for the real thing, you’re in luck – the Maserati Levante Trofeo is just for you.
Like the F-Pace SVR, we knew it was coming but had pretty much gotten used to the idea that it would be badged GTS. Maserati – those wily devils – instead came up with the Trofeo nameplate, possibly because the GTS badge didn’t do it justice?
Maserati Levante Trofeo
The Maser SUV has been kicking around for a couple of years now in diesel and petrol V6 forms. The petrol V6 is a belter, but only available in select markets. It’s inevitable that some buyers have held off from this game-changing SUV because they guessed a more potent car was on the way.
Obviously, they were right. The Trofeo has landed and it has a Ferrari twin-turbo V8. Yep
Power is an extraordinary, F-Pace SVR-rivalling 440kW and 730Nm. That means a 0-100km/h time of 3.9 seconds (good gracious me) and a top speed over 300km/h. That’s a big whole to punch the air, so if you’re going to do it, a Ferrari V8 is the way to go.
It’s never easy in fast SUV land. Ferrari and Maserati worked together to build a new crankcase, different wiring and a new oil pump. The two companies are obviously related, but Ferrari is used to installing this engine and its derivatives in a range of cars. If you’re wondering, it’s closely related to the California T/Portofino engine. These engines come from Ferrari Powertrain and have obvious changes when found in Maseratis or Alfas.
Chassis
Drive goes to all four wheels through a rear-biased Q4 all-wheel drive system. The ever-excellent eight-speed ZF auto manages the gears.
Thankfully, a big set of brakes haul things back under control. The 100km/h to zero (62mph to zero) stopping distance of 34.5m (about 115ft) is super-impressive
The Levante Trofeo rolls on forged 22-inch forged alloy wheels wrapped in wider, stickier tyres. The team beefed up the double wishbones front and rear to handle the load.
Just to make absolutely sure, the drive modes have all had the appropriate tweaks – Normal, ICE, Sport and off-road (snigger). Exclusive to the Trofeo, there’s also a Corsa (Race) mode, which will keep things interesting.
The Maserati Levante Trofeo is bound to be ready for you to pay for at your friendly local dealer. Unless you’re in a weird place that doesn’t allow screaming V8s.
Get a load of all of our 2018 New York Motor Show coverage here.
Ingolstadt’s New York Motor Show is off with a bang in the form of the new Audi RS5 Sportback.
Can’t live with a coupe? Can’t afford the hilarious, twin-turbo V8 RS7 and don’t want an RS4? Or you want to go faster than than the S4 or S5? Or S7? I mean, it’s complicated, right? As always, Audi has the answer, predictably by adding further complication.
Audi’s hitherto two door RS5 now has a distinctly family feel, with another two doors and a hatchback. Rather like…er…the S5 Sportback. And A5 Sportback.
Audi RS5 Sportback
We already know a fair bit about the RS5, but here’s a quick refresher. The Sportback is based on the S5 which is based on the A4 which itself is on VW’s MLB platform. Under the bonnet is a brilliant 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 spinning out 331kW (450PS) and 600Nm.
Power finds the road through Audi’s Quattro system and an eight-speed ZF automatic. As with the new V8s, the turbos are perpendicular to the engine, with inlet side on the inside (aka “hot side inside”. You’re welcome). You get full torque is from 1900-5000rpm. Rawr.
The RS5 Sportback looks the business here – big gaping air lets, blacked-out honeycomb grille, blacked-out inserts (optional, sadly) and trademark oval tailpipes.
The interior scores these lovely stitched seats, super-slick A4/A5 interior with a big screen and Audi’s fully digital dashboard which they call Virtual Cockpit.
The RS5 Sportback will be available this year in a number of markets. Audi is reasonably confident about it too:
“The Audi RS 5 Sportback is more than just an international trade fair novelty – it offers something new to our customers. Our innovative interpretation of a five-door high-performance coupé has neither predecessor models, nor a direct competitor. The new Audi RS 5 Sportback will carry the RS genes out onto the road.”
Michael-Julius Renz, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH.
We can’t wait to have a crack and to be perfectly honest, there’s not a fast Audi we’ve met in the past five years we haven’t liked. If you want a bit of RS action, check out our Audi RS3 review. For more fast Audi action, watch our Audi playlist. Or read our Audi R8 Spyder review.
Catch the rest of our 2018 New York Motor Show Coverage here
If you want a fast SUV, there’s a new contender – the Jaguar F-Pace SVR. Oh, we knew it was coming, but wow, here it is and it looks tough.
F-Pace SVR
From the minds that brought you the wonderful F-Type SVR – a firm favourite here at The Redline – comes an SVO-fettled F-Pace. The company is having a massive year, and just about all of it is pivoting around SUVs and not just Jags.
We knew this was coming, but courtesy of the New York Motor Show, we’ve got the juice.
As expected, the F-Pace SVR packs Jag’s 5.0-litre supercharged V8, with with kW (550PS) and a stinking 680Nm of torque. That means a 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time of 4.3 seconds. Top speed is 283km/h (173mph). So that’s not wasting any time.
“The F-PACE SVR delivers the handling and agility to match its performance. Everything from the steering to the bespoke suspension set-up has been tuned specifically for our performance SUV and the result is a vehicle that lives up to the promise of both the F-PACE and SVR names.” Mike Cross, Chief Engineer, Vehicle Integrity, Jaguar Land Rover
Chassis
It’s not all about the donk and an SVR is never just a straight-line rip-snorter. The team flung the the brakes, suspension and wheels from the top-spec S to sharpen up the F-Pace experience.
Adaptive suspension is standard but has had the usual damping changes to support the keener driver. The front springs are 30 percent stiffer while the rear spring rate moves up 10 percent. Between the rear wheels is an active differential which should promise tail-happy nonsense in the right mode. Torque vectoring will keep things under control when you’re on maximum attack.
The brakes are bigger, too, with 395mm up front and 396mm down the back – they’re huge and two-piece hobbies with big calipers.
The F-Pace SVR rolls on 21-inch forged alloys and you can tick a box to fit 22s. Tyres are wider at the rear for added rear traction. This thing should really punch out of corners.
Also on board is the always-excellent ZF eight-speed automatic, revised electrically-assisted steering and the chassis is stiffer.
Aero & Weight Saving
Obviously with more cylinders, you need more cooling. And with a higher top speed, things need to be a bit more slippery. Add to all that the ride height, aero is even more critical.
Front and rear bumpers, deeper side sills and a flip spoiler all combine to cut lift. The front bumpers in particular are all about cooling, getting more air around the crackerjack V8. There is also a set of recalibrated driving and transmission modes which will be fun for the driver, less great for grandma in the back seat.
The Active Exhaust is even 6.6kg cooler than the standard unit, which also promises that signature anti-social noise.
Interior
The first thing current F-Pace fans will notice is the gear selector. The show-off rising-from-the-console rotary dial has gone, replaced by the F-Type’s rather more practical “Sports” selector. The paddle shifters come in aluminium which is always nicer than cheap plastic units.
The new seats are “slimline” and with Jag’s lozenge pattern, with liberal applications of SVR logos throughout the cabin. You’ll be able to choose from four colour schemes, too.
Where and When?
Pretty much anywhere you can already buy SVR cars and no doubt dealers’ books are open. Deliveries start in the UK summer of 2018 and will doubtless trickle through to other markets as the year progresses.
Want more 2018 New York Motor Show coverage? Click here
Steve Wakeford is a member of The Redline team and this is the first of his column, Second Opinion.
Now that the 1 Series M is no longer with us (a moment’s silence, please…thank you), BMW has decided that the recipe was worth repeating. And that’s a good thing. Actually, it’s a very good thing. Not a lot more than an M140i gets you entry into the wonderful world of proper ‘M’ BMWs – and when you consider what else you can get for that sort of money, the M2 becomes a wise choice for those who appreciate just what this little rocket provides.
BMW M2
In it’s ‘gentler’ settings – a relative term – the M2 is an incredibly easy thing to live with. If you don’t have a family to cart around, this would be a daily driver you could live with long-term. It’s spacious for a two-door coupe, there’s enough room for the golf clubs in the boot (I checked). Driven with an eye to fuel consumption it’s quite acceptable, it’s small enough to be easy to place in city traffic and it’s easy to park. I’d hazard a guess that quite a few people who buy or lease an M2 will be folks who live in major cities – and there’s a chance many M2s will do most of their driving in those environments. If that’s you – mazel tov! But, please, do yourself a favour, get out of town and use the easy to navigate dynamic setting and select Sport +.
And brace yourself.
Because when you select the more aggressive settings, Clark Kent ducks into a nearby phone booth and emerges with his undies on the outside of his trousers and comes out swinging for the fences. The relatively mild-mannered coupe transforms into a car that can stick with anything else in its price range and a long way north of it as well. I recently drove an M4 CS (spectacular thing, by the way), and while it’s in a different league in terms of performance and price – it’d take some spirited driving to significantly pull away from a well-steered M2 on the same road. For the money, this is a cracking car.
BMW has really done some outstanding work on the suspension of the recent M models. Both the M4 CS and the M2 benefit from having suspension that is both supple and confidence-inspiring. You never get the feeling in either of them that they are trying to deposit you into a hedge or nearby eucalypt – and that confidence builds as you become more familiar with both vehicles.
The rear tyres stick to the road surface, finding traction and drive even under exuberant provocation. You’d expect it from the M4 CS because it is aimed at a particular sort of driver – but even its little brother doesn’t find itself tied in knots by undulations and compressions mid-corner. It simply sticks to the line you’ve chosen and eggs you on.
Not long ago, turbocharged engines felt as if they were running out of breath once you got over about 6,000 rpm. As forced-induction technology has advanced, that breathlessness is becoming a thing of the past.
In many ways, both the M2 and M4 CS feel and drive like there’s a naturally aspirated big block engine with a 750 Holley nestled between the V. As the M2 closes in on its redline, the power delivery doesn’t let up. And while its torque curve is predictably flat-ish, there are plenty of kilowatts to be found north of 6,000 rpm all the way to the limiter.
In fact, you’ve got to be on top of your driving game when you get there, because this little thing is pretty wild when you’re up it. It’s such a fun thing to drive like this if you’re someone who enjoys driving. It just does everything you’d want it to and never really seems to run out of ideas.
At the end of such a drive, you remember why you love quick cars and always have done since you were a kid. It just puts a smile on your face and makes you glad you’re alive at a time when so many car companies are producing driver’s cars like this one. You can take a few liberties with the M2 and it stays friendly – and that’s a great thing. Because as much as we love driving things like this – we also love parking them up in the garage and returning to those we love in one piece. At the M2’s price point, I can’t think of much else I’d want to buy.
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BMW M140i
Well, OK, there is one viable alternative. It’s also front-engined, rear-driven; has 250kW (350PS) which is sufficient; also has that lovely ‘Sport +’ option; also has a propeller on the front; also has the three coloured stripes of the ‘M’ family. Perhaps the only troubling thing for BMW is that they make so many driver’s cars at the moment.
The M140i costs significantly less than the M2. Where I’m from, that means I can buy an M140i and buy a used E39 M5.
BMW’s rear-wheel drive fun machines go side-by-side. Which one to buy and what happens if you choose one over the other?
I’ve been wanting to a M140i vs M2 comparison even since Munich’s riotous two-door joined the range a couple of years ago. The M2 is an absolute rocket and its ever-so-slight change in chassis philosophy made it a barrel of laughs the M4 never quite was. Until the M4 CS, of course. We’re still rubbing our hands in anticipation of the M3 CS.
M140i vs M2
The BMW M140i is a bit of an unsung hero in the range. Idiots sniff at it not being a “real M car” – one of the YouTube commenters called me “a joke” for referring to it as such. It’s part of the M Performance range that takes in a range of cars and acts as like an Audi S-Line pack or AMG add-on for “normal” cars, doing more than adding an M-Sport pack.
I put the two cars together, but not in the way everyone else does. I wanted to see what the relative strengths of the two cars were when driven side-by-side rather than “which is best.”
Interior
The two cars are very similar inside – they share much the same architecture and given the 2 Series is a 1 Series in a frock, it’s hardly surprising that they look the same.
The M140i’s seats are 1 Series sports seats. They’re a bit on the small side but do enough to hold you in while keeping you comfortable. While not much to look at, there is plenty of adjustment on offer to help you settle in and enjoy the ride.
Obviously, with the five-door version (here in Australia, we don’t get to choose a three-door 1er), access to the rear seats is fairly straightforward and they’re comfortable enough for short journeys. I’ve had a couple of kids in the back who had a whale of a time while I threw the car around rural roads, but there’s no shape to hold them in. Up to six-footers will fit, but the closer they get to that height, the less comfortable they’ll be.
The M2’s seats aren’t a great deal better to look at, but again they look after you where it counts. Getting into the rear is a bit of a drama – the front seat not really getting out of the way. Once you’re in the back there’s even less room than in the hatchback and the seats are flat and shapeless. Headroom is a bit of a challenge, too. If you’ve got young kids that can get in and out themselves, it’s probably okay. As they march into teenager-hood, forget it.
Exterior
Things really diverge on the outside and there are some genuine technical reasons.
The 1 Series has always been a controversially-styled car. This second-generation post-facelift is the least-dramatic but has also been the best-received. I really liked the E87, particularly with M-Sport bumpers and wheels. The surfacing was lovely and even the rear end managed to work.
The F20 was an abomination. Gone were the inventive shapes, replaced by something inexplicably ugly. The more aggressive bumper of the 135i helped lessen the blow.
The 2015 facelift brought order where there had been chaos. Better at both ends and tied to the new F22 2 Series range it’s a vastly better-looking car, even if the proportions remained slightly odd.
The 2 Series, on the other hand, was pretty out of the blocks. Again, it looks better with M-Sport wheels and aero bits, but it put to rest the demons unleashed by the F20. The M2, though, well – it’s different. The front and rear guards are pumped up to resemble a drift car’s. The people at M had no choice – somebody convinced management that the M2’s suspension had to be from the bigger M4 and there wasn’t the room.
The result is something properly mean-looking. With darker wheels, it really looks the business in the near-default vivid blue. The high-ish profile tyres add some real toughness. Looks the part, is the part. BMW really does do menacing in its passenger car range Ms, unlike the mild obnoxiousness of M-pumped Xes.
Engines & Tranmissions
BMW likes to keep things fresh, so when the F20’s mid-life update arrived, the 135i’s 3.0-litre turbo straight six was replaced with…a 3.0-litre turbo straight six. Power rose to 250kW (340PS) in the transition to the B58 (previous cars ran the N55). The B58 also came with an appreciable jump in torque to 500Nm, up over 10 percent. Most of the changes involved the way the twin-scroll turbo worked, improved emissions and reduced friction. It’s a very smooth engine and revs happily to a 7000rpm redline while making a terrific noise. I don’t care how much popping and banging the AMG 2.0-litre turbo four makes, the BMW straight-six is better.
And before I’m accused of bias, I reckon the Audi twin-turbo V8 is the best-sounding engine in “normal” cars.
The M140i is available with a six-speed manual transmission or a ZF eight-speed automatic. That gearbox has to be the best auto on the market today and is installed in hugely varying types of car, from a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo right through to the madcap twin-turbo V8 on the new M5 (and Audi’s RS6/RS7 pair).
The M2 “soldiers on” with the turbo straight-six from the M3/M4. While it’s not as potent, 272kW (370PS) and 465Nm isn’t messing about. And yes, those figures don’t compare particularly favourably to the B58, but we’ll come to that. Here in the M2, the engine is known as N55 rather than the S55 codename on the M3/M4/M4 CS.
The N55 also scores forged pistons and crankshaft to handle the thrashing and an extra oil cooler handles the higher demand.
You can choose from two transmissions – one is the same six-speed manual (with a revised linkage) from the M140i or BMW’s seven-speed DCT twin-clutch. I had the DCT version – quicker to 100km/h and it’s the gearbox most buyers choose.
Chassis
These two cars are very different here under your backside. The M140i is obviously a 1 Series. Even a basic 1 is good fun to drive, so the work for the M Performance team wasn’t hugely difficult. The M140i has adaptive damping to deliver an easy ride around town and a stiffer, flatter chassis for the fun stuff. If you want, you can spend (a lot of) money to add a mechanical LSD. Do it. If you’re buying one second-hand, Quaife will supply you with an LSD too.
Sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 225/40 tyres wrap the 18-inch wheels up front while the rears are 245/35s.
The M2 is a bit of a Frankenstein car. The fatter guards hide M3/M4 suspension bits to widen the track front and rear. Between the rear wheels you will find a multi-plate limited-slip diff where the M140i is stuck with a torque-vectored unit. Michelin Pilot Super Sports connect you to the road, 245/35 up front and 265/35 at the rear, fitted to 19-inch wheels.
Unlike the M140i, the suspension is static – no adaptive dampers, just good old-fashioned springs and dampers honed with thousands of hours of testing. The track is a whopping 63mm wider up front and 69mm at the rear, but that explains the 80mm wider bodywork.
The M4’s rear subframe is attached directly to the body, which means a bit more noise and a bit less comfort. Both ends feature serious bracing between the suspension towers, too.
Driving
Before we get cracking, both of these cars are absolute rockets. Anything small with 250kW-plus of power is going to demolish the benchmark 0-100km/h time (0-62mph). Both of these cars flash by in well under five seconds, so if drag-racing is your thing, there’s little in it.
The M140i is clearly the softer car. There is much to like about it, though. It’s the more appealing everyday car, with a comfortable ride and handling balance that you can use every day. It’s not a track warrior, but in Sport mode you will demolish just about anything in its class and you will be having a ball doing it. On its own, it feels unstoppable and is without doubt more fun than a , without doubt,s rear-wheel drive chassis has the edge over all-wheel drive for driving purity, with excellent electro-nannies and a finely-judged rear end to keep you out of trouble.
The M140i is almost a best-kept secret – a modern classic and with the move to a front-wheel drive platform for the next-generation, it’s also an instant classic. No other small hatchback is this fast and at this level, affordable. Sorry to my American friends, you can’t have one. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a healthy private import market develop over the next few years.
The M2, however, is completely off the chain. Not like the 1 Series M, which was mental, but it’s just so much fun. The super-stable platform of the wider-tracked M4 suspension, stickier Super Sport tyres and stiffer everything provides thrills in the wet and dry. Despite its torque deficit, the extra potential in the chassis is super-easy to unlock and you will never fail to enjoy yourself. You can get it sideways with the electronics on to make you feel like a hero (but not too sideways), which is brilliant.
I can’t stress enough how much I love the M2. It’s just an amazing car. People chortle at me when I say it’s responsible for the M4 CS, but I reckon it is. They feel so similar – so adjustable, so much fun. The M2’s front end is so sharp but it’s so forgiving – you can storm into corners with huge speed and know the rear is going to go with you. Sideways is never surprise, you’re in on all the fun. It’s just amazing.
Ingolstadt’s MQB-based compact SUV has had the Audi Sport treatment – the result is the Audi SQ2 (not pictured. Sorry)
(Not an Audi SQ2. Sorry.)
2018 means lots of Q-ing
(I am not sorry for that pun, not one little bit)
It’s a busy year for Audi’s Q-line of SUVs, with three ready to pop this year – the Q8, the long-overdue new Q3 and the SQ2.
I know this will upset a lot of people – hello, lovely to have you along – but the Audi Q2 is quite a nice little car. In 2.0 TFSI Quattro form, it’s bordering on warm hatch territory, too.
But, as ever, Audi has left no stone unturned to lure buyers into its lair and tossed the Q2 over to the nutters at Audi Sport. Some of you might remember the last time a small SUV went over the wall. It came back as the completely bonkers RSQ3 which is a ton of five cylinder fun. If you haven’t driven it, do not have a go – it really is a hoot. Irrelevant? Certainly. But it’ll make you laugh your butt off.
Get used to fast SUVs, too – the electric revolution is going to bring a ton more of them because the jacked-up nature of SUVs suits slinging a bank of batteries underneath without stuffing the styling.
Audi SQ2
Still not an Audi SQ2
The SQ2 had been more rumour than fact. Audi registered the SQ2 trademark in 2013, but car makers do that kind of thing all the time, partly to stop another brand doing it to annoy them. But hot Q2s started popping up in spy shots and then rather more fully formed at the Nurburging.
This week, though, Audi’s brass held the Audi Annual Press Conference and board members Peter Meertens confirmed the SQ2’s existence. He didn’t say much else apart from its Shanghai Motor Show debut in June.
Under the bonnet is most likely the S3’s turbo four-cylinder, but with fewer horses. In the S3 it spins out 213kW (290PS), but bank expect a rounder 200kWish (280PS) for the tiddler. Don’t want to upset the S3 brigade, do we?
Obviously bigger brakes, lower stiffer suspension and a boatload of detail tweaks and a buttload of options will transform the SQ2 into an even more nimble machine.
And the RSQ2?
Yeah, that’s still a rumour. Other sites claim that the wee beastie could inherit the RSQ3’s five-cylinder because it fits in the MQB platform but I’ve got personal doubts about that being A Thing. It’s probably too niche even for Audi.
I need to take you on a little journey here. Just a short one, don’t worry. Some years ago, BMW released the M4, which replaced the M3, which itself was replaced by the sedan-only M3. The M4 replaced the V8 M3 Coupe which was a cracker of a car. High revving, naturally-aspirated and if you chose, a bit of luxury. And it looked amazing in the right colour and with the right wheels.
There wasn’t a lot wrong with the new M4, but there were (and continue to be) complaints. The steering isn’t great, the turbo straight-six isn’t the V8 (oh, der), it’s heavy. Someone I know once called it a boat.
I loved it. Still do, but I will concede that there is a tiny something missing, something the V8 M3 had and the E46 M3 six before. Not just the revs – a lack of revs has become a fact of life – but something I’ve come to call “the spark” because I can’t really define it. It’s difficult to say exactly what it is. And it might be to do with all of the above.
History
Anyway. The timeline looks like this. The first M3 was the two-door E30, a completely bonkers, benchmark-defining sports sedan. Powered by a four-cylinder engine from BMW Motorsport, the first M3 makes people who haven’t even driven it dewy-eyed. Which is a bit nuts, really. As the years went by, power went up from 143kW (195PS) to 160kW (220PS) in the EVO2 and finally, for a limited run, the 175kW (238PS) 2.5-litre EVO3. The M3 world rages over which is the best. I can’t comment. I’d love to have a crack in one, though.
The second M3 was the straight-six powered E36. It was a very different car to the E30 – heavier, more luxurious, a bit more mainstream. Hugely popular, it sold from 1992 to 1999. Initially a controversial machine, the first version had a five-speed manual paired with a 3.0-litre in-line six. That car was famous for top gear having a 1.0 ratio – that’s third gear on most cars from the time. It wasn’t much of a tourer.
Thankfully, in 1996, a six-speed arrived along with extra torque with the move to 3.2-litres. But with that extra gear, it became a more flexible, more impressive car. Another reason for that was the power jump to 239kW (325PS). That brought the car to life in a big way.
Weirdly, the US and Canada had different engines to the European M3s, soldiering on with the 179kW (243PS) S52. The upgrade in 1996 that also brought the six-speed manual also offered a consoling 15Nm of torque, rising to 320Nm.
The E36 is also famous for the introduction of the SMG single-clutch semi-automatic. It’s safe to say that this was not a popular move.
Next came the E46. Sticking with the straight six, it got heavier again but more powerful. The E46’s inline six delivered 252kW (338PS) and 365Nm. That thing revved like a demon. The SMG still wasn’t that good or popular, but hey, BMW had to start somewhere.
The E46 also spawned the instant classic – the M3 CSL. Lighter (by a massive 110kg), harder and completely bonkers, there was a lot of the unruly E30 in it (yes, I have driven that, and may yet do so again…). That was closely followed by a less hardcore M3 CS.
Almost done.
Then came the E90 V8-powered machine with its carbon fibre roof, twin-clutch transmission to go alongside the manual and, oh, that noise. The 4.0-litre V8 spun out a massive 309kW (420PS) at a stratospheric 8300rpm. Closely related to the E60 M5’s V10, it was lovely and rightly regarded as brilliant.
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And finally…
…in 2014, came the F80 (M3) and and the change to M4 for the coupe (F82), the M3 living on as the sedan. The lovely V8 went in search of better efficiency and came with yet another weight gain but with an impressive jump in torque from the twin-turbo straight-six. The internet went mad, of course, but the proof was in the driving. And it was good. Very good. But there was a nagging doubt about it. It’s good, almost great, but not quite there.
I loved it. I know I’ve already said that, but it bears repeating. No, it wasn’t perfect and it’s probably a little too cultured, but it was damn good. BMW tried to address some of the criticisms with the Competition Pack and it too was good, but still not quite there.
In 2016 something extraordinary came along – the M2. Sharing lots of the M4’s suspension components, the M2 picked up the pieces after the insane 1 Series M Coupe and turned some things down while turning some things up. It’s a brilliant car. And I reckon this car is a shift in the way BMW M does cars. The critical response was delirious because it’s deliriously good.
Something else came along in the same year, the M4 GTS. Remember the E46 M3 CSL? Harder again. Cage. More power, 50Nm of torque. It has a reputation as a terror and was limited to just a few hundred units. They all went despite a staggering price. It was fast, too – I was lucky enough to go for a passenger ride around Circuit Paul Ricard and it was fast.
And then in 2017, came the M4 CS. Packed with lots of GTS goodness, but dialled back to make it a friendlier, more liveable car.
BMW M4 CS
I’m probably putting a few things together that don’t belong, but from the outside, the M4 CS’s arrival really does look like a way of BMW setting a few things straight.
The CS comes with the same turbocharged straight-six as the M4 Competition, but with a nice fat torque figure of 600Nm (up 50) and a more modest increase in power of 7kW (10PS) to 338kW (460PS). Which is actually 26kW (35PS) up from the “standard” M4.
Compared to the GTS, power is down 30kW (41PS) but the torque is the same. Either way, the redline is up to 7600rpm which suggests a more frantic character.
The seven-speed DCT remains but is more kerchunk than the Competitions while slightly less mad than the GTS. 0-100km/h (0-62mph) arrives in 3.9 seconds
A carbon roof and bonnet helps drop the weight by 32kg from a standard M4, but it’s still on the chunky side at 1580kg. Again, compared to the GTS, the weight is up but you get a few comforts back, including a pair of rear seats. The door cards are similar to the GTS’s, which means less storage and strappy door-pulls rather than handles. Some people hate those, I love them.
The front wheels are 19-inch units wrapped in 265/35 Michelin Sport Cup 2s, while the rears are 20s like the GTS. BMW says the front wheels are smaller diameter to help with steering feel and turn-in performance.
The car’s exterior helps tell some of the CS’s story – carbon lip spoilers front and rear, vented bonnet. The taillights are OLEDs – each element looks like a flattened petal and the start-up animation is very cool.
Driving
How can I put this delicately? It’s bloody brilliant. As I keep saying, I think the M4 is a terrific car but the CS takes it by the scruff of the neck, throws some caution out the door and puts you in control. While the electronics are still there (and need to be), there’s a lot more room for you to play in. The tail will wag, the wheels will chirp but oh, my, does this thing go around corners.
There are two key things to this car – torque and traction. The front wheels are tenacious on the tarmac, holding the front end true to your commands. Built-in understeer might be there (it has to be, it’s a road car) but its presence was beyond my bravery on the roads I played.
The rear end, though, is very finely-judged. There is more than enough torque to overwhelm the boots and it will step sideways even with the safety net switched on. It won’t go too far, obviously, but it commands respect from your right foot. That’s a good thing – I like my cars fighty because all-too often they’re boring if monumentally quick. But I’ll take a lively slower car any day over a hugely fast boring one.
Every time I drive this car it’s wet (or there are cops everywhere) but I can tell you that it’s an enormous amount of fun when things are greasy. The car bucks around to let you know you’ve asked too much of it, but it never bites you or throws you. The steering is so well keyed into the road surface, you know what’s going on every step of the way.
The BMW M4 CS is right up there as one of the best cars I’ve ever driven. Fast, fiery and fun, it’s got a ton of character. I’d have one in a heartbeat and I suspect anyone who drives it will say the same thing. It will convert those who think the M4 is too heavy or too inert or whatever other complaint they can come up with.
Genuine brilliance is hard to come by but the M4 CS has it by the quarry load.
The next hypercar from Woking, the McLaren BP23, will definitely have three seats and will go even faster than the ground-breaking McLaren F1.
McLaren BP23
Doing 340km/h probably seems unnecessary, but hey, trains do it, so why can’t cars? It’s been a long, long time since the brilliant, bucket-list F1 hit the roads. It was an epic car at a time when epic cars arrived with monotonous regularity.
The BP23 is sort of in the same boat – McLaren’s own P1 is a hybrid-powered rocket, there’s the Senna and various wild motor show and real machines on the way.
The BP23 is the third Ultimate Series car and the second this year alone. McLaren is calling it a hyper GT, a car to cross continents.
Just 106 will be made available…er, were made available. They’re all sold at around £1.6 million (US$2.22m) so, like the Senna, you can’t have one. Or can you? That number – 106 – is a reference to the amazing F1 and its Asian financial-crisis affected run in the 1990s.
McLaren is willing to tell us that the BP23 will have a P1-like hybrid powertrain capable of pushing through 391km/h (243mph). That’s faster than the BMW V12-powered F1, which managed “only” 396.4km/h (240.1mph).
The company is also happy to tell us that in exchange for all that money, McLaren Special Operations will tailor the car to the owner’s exact tastes. Let’s hope the Sultan of Brunei’s brother isn’t in line for a BP23.
Thankfully, BP23 is just an internal codename. The real name will break cover along with Rob Melville’s team’s final design “before the end of the year”. It has already been an extraordinary year for McLaren, with the 720S coming on stream, the announcement of the Senna, Senna GTR and no doubt one or two more cars by year’s end.
Building a car to surpass the F1 will be a huge challenge, so McLaren’s engineering team are super-keen.
Will we ever drive one? Who knows. Sometimes, though, thinking about it is better than doing it.
Hah. Who am I kidding?
Want more McLaren? Here’s our review of the McLaren 570S Coupe, fresh off the hard drive
The F1’s three-seater interior
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