The “LITTLE M” BMW M2

It’s a good thing that people believes that Mondays suck. Since everyone will look at you and declare their love for coffee and how much their boss suck, there’s no better way to make them envious in picking up one of the latest-greatest BMW’s for a thrilling drive in the empty hills. I live for cars, so Mondays cannot be that bad after all, right? 

The sequel to a great film is sometimes greater. The M3, the spearhead and godfather of all modern performance BMW’s has always been the undisputed king of cornering and a pure driving car: if you drive an E46, you know what I am talking about.
The M3 has always been the ultimate BMW’s: although not always M Sport’s the fastest car in a straight line but it has always been a machine coming straight of the foundry of the Gods of Driving: lightweight, with that BMW metallic snarl coming out of the engine and the attitude to leave behind any faster car. Like the 911, the M3 has always been the champ to beat and the car to own.

As you might know with the F10 series, the M3 3 door became the M4, leaving the historic badge to the less popular 4 door saloon. Despite It has lost part of its original vibe of a focused performance car, the M3 could still be the king of the hill: 410 hp are enough to make a fast car after all…

The M2 seems like the job made by someone who has taken up all the bits and pieces that were left by the M3 while growing up and made a car out of it: in a few words, it is what the M3 used to be. At 1.5 tons is quite light by today’s standards but it combines a minimalist equipment with the power of the twin-turbocharged 3.0 liter straight six, producing 370 hp and 457 Nm of torque. Pretty conservative features but bear in mind that the whole car has a “stripped-down” feeling, and it feels closer in concept to the original E30 M3: electronic gadgetry aside, it is a car made for driving and nothing else.

Besides the gorgeous styling and delicious looks, it is a noisy and effective sportscar, in the truest sense of the word: If this could be an Hommage to the original M3, I would believe BMW. In a way, it is a modern classic, re-interpreting all the qualities of a proper driver’s car of the past. Don’t be put down by the optional, yet excellent M DKG paddle shift automatic gearbox, as it intensifies the driving experience.
The M2 is a jewel of a car, and it has all the right qualities for a modern sports car: a lightweight all aluminium engine, a clever twin-scroll turbocharging system with integrated in the exhaust ports and an E differential, which locks progressively the rear wheels in order to increase the traction and allow the driver to take advantage of a light rear-end drift while exiting from a corner.

The interior is stock 1/2 series and it doesn’t differ much from your regular 118d: the interior M package is a kind reminder of what could happen if you give this girl the full potatoes.
Sporty BMW’s are offerings from the gods of cornering and using such a beauty to go from point A to point B is a crime shame, especially if the trip involves crowded straight. Also, while cruising, noise inside the cabin is quite high and at highway speeds and is quite annoying. If you need to drive the M2, it is always better to drive it meaning business, so corners are what is was made for. 
Of all roads possible, the one of the Colle Sant’Eusebio is the perfect one: in the Garda region, it is the one every driver wants to conquer and hold the record of the fastest speed run for the longest time possible. 

That road is a lovely mix of negative camber corners, good visibility, and great overall fun to drive on. And Mondays are the best days for driving then weekends: everyone is at work, leaving the roads empty. Clever huh?
The M2 is a properly sorted road car,  nimble and precise. It has the classic front engine, rear wheel drive set up which is suited for oversteering fun. Since this little, BMW has been developed on the Nordschleife, it tackles well the irregular sections and constant altitude changes, always remaining perfectly connected to the ground and behaves impeccably.  With the engine pulling strongly from the bottom, it is a joy to drive fast on any road. I wonder what more could one want than this machine: at 70.000 Euros is the right price to pay for such a capable machine. 

And Mondays, more than weekends, are the right days to head out for a drive, especially because there’s no point in showcasing this great car in bars and other pointless places: Mondays are for M2’s, and weekends are for family reunions.

Many thanks to Premoli Automobilies