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Monday, February 17, 2025

Testing the 2024 BMW M2—perhaps the final M automotive with a guide transmission

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A pale blue BMW M2 seen parked in the hills
Enlarge / BMW’s M2 is perhaps the final M automotive it builds with three pedals and a stick shift.

Peter Nelson

We’re at an attention-grabbing crossroads within the high-performance fanatic automotive market. Working east to west is the adoption of electrical automobiles and a sluggish discount in inner combustion engine automotive manufacturing. North to south is the development of ICE horsepower from the manufacturing unit over time, and it is unclear how far it continues from right here. Coming in diagonally is the weakening demand for guide transmissions—that is sadly the place they finish.

In the course of this intersection is the 2024 BMW M2 six-speed guide, hanging its tail out in an enormous managed drift across the edges, expressing one final hurrah as BMW’s remaining object of internal-combustion M automotive affection.

I lately had the chance to pilot BMW’s newest, smallest M automotive via a few of Southern California’s most enjoyable mountain roads, plus Willow Springs Worldwide Raceway’s Streets of Willow circuit. In relation to shortly determining this type of automotive’s powertrain and chassis, I can not consider a greater mixture of pavement. This is what makes the newest—and final—six-speed-manual-equipped M2 technology an total wonderful fanatic coupe.

BMW has given the M2 a much more muscular look than the normal 2 series coupe.
Enlarge / BMW has given the M2 a way more muscular look than the traditional 2 collection coupe.

Peter Nelson

Centered inside-out

Appears to be like are subjective, notably BMW appears to be like, however I believe BMW did an excellent job on the M2’s exterior. Its kidney grilles, headlights, fender flares, exhaust ideas, and extensive fenders—particularly within the rear quarter panels—are enticing. It is a muscular little coupe, and it undoubtedly informs you of its intentions with its huge intakes reduce into its entrance finish. Behind them lies a warmth exchanger for its engine’s air-to-water intercooling (extra on that in a bit), plus a number of different types of water and oil cooling to make sure long-lasting peak efficiency, all-twisty-road-and-track-session-long. It is exhausting to mistake it for a base 2 Collection.

Inside, it is fairly spacious for a coupe and has nice visibility throughout. My check automotive included the $9,900 Carbon Bundle, which will get you comfy, near-race-bucket carbon fiber seats and a slick carbon roof. I am 6 toes and three inches tall, so the absence of sliding glass up prime was a godsend and even allowed me to put on a helmet on observe without having to recline, a rarity in trendy automobiles. The seats are a little bit of a ache to slip out and in of, and the left leg bolster pushed inward barely an excessive amount of, impeding environment friendly and comfy clutch motion for my lanky determine. I think many of us would not have the identical concern, although.

Know-how-wise, a crisp 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch touchscreen take up a number of actual property. BMW’s iDrive 8 software program is simple to get the dangle of, operates fairly seamlessly, and has good haptic suggestions. Supplies high quality is total fairly good; all buttons and dials felt substantial, and the Carbon Bundle contains stylish slabs of carbon fiber trim as a substitute of the boring outdated piano black plastic that is all too frequent in trendy efficiency automobiles.

Opinions are mixed when it comes to BMW's carbon bucket seats. They hold you in place well but can be hard to get in and out of, and the hump between the driver's legs is polarizing.
Enlarge / Opinions are combined in relation to BMW’s carbon bucket seats. They maintain you in place effectively however could be exhausting to get out and in of, and the hump between the driving force’s legs is polarizing.

Peter Nelson

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