Sunday 14th February 2016

BMW M2 M Performance parts launched

You can get new carbon bits for your M2 ... and just look at that MotoGP safety car!

---

This is a clever bit of marketing from BMW really. Make one staggeringly cool MotoGP safety car, fit it with parts that customers can actually purchase, then sit back and watch as people strive to create something similar and buy all the aftermarket goodies. Well, sort of.

Safety car laps a whole lot more appealing now!

In case you hadn't already guessed, not every single part on this M2 MotoGP safety car is available in the M Performance catalogue. But there are a few, so let's run through those first. The side skirts, front grilles, 'Air Breather', mirror caps, rear diffuser and front aero blades will all be available on the production M2 as well. Technically the safety car has the M Performance exhaust too, but given BMW describes it as "stripped down completely" to ensure that it "can still be heard over the roar of prototype motorcycles on their installation lap", it probably isn't all that similar. Must sound incredible though.

Of course, what are of most interest are all the goodies on the safety car that you can't have on a roadgoing M2. There's coilover suspension, carbon ceramic brakes and that rear spoiler for a start. See also the magnificent gold cage, the Recaro buckets with Schroth belts and a battery master switch. Cars automatically become cooler with a battery master switch.

Not coming to a dealer near you soon

As for actual safety car gubbins, the light bar uses the latest LED tech and is supplemented by additional lights front and rear. The corona headlight rings can flash too. There will be no missing the M2, put it that way. Suddenly an interruption in a MotoGP race doesn't seem so uninteresting...

As for the M Performance road car bits, they're the usual mix of quite interesting (uprated brakes) and the rather naff (those stripes mainly). Most intriguingly there's the option of M Performance coil spring suspension, allowing the car to be lowered by up to 20mm. Combined with adjustable dampers (16 rebound settings, 12 in compression), it should make for an M2 that's adaptable to any driving style.

The road equivalent. Needs more gold

The brake upgrade is sadly nothing more than pads, but BMW says they "do not show any fading tendencies even when constantly subjected to extreme use." And you really will be able to subject them to extreme use, thanks to the M Performance stainless steel pedal covers and their pronounced rubber profiles. Ahem.

Inside there are some nice Alcantara goodies available, plentiful carbon fibre plus the M Performance wheel option, with a display showing information on lap time and g-forces. Should make the commute a little more interesting.

The M Performance parts for the M2 will be launched next month, should the standard car not meet your expectations. As for the safety car, the first MotoGP race is March 20 at Qatar. We'll certainly be tuning in!

[GTEYE]

Maybe this is the first sign that gold is the new black?

Then on the other hand, maybe not.

[AW111]

"Staggeringly cool?"

[loose cannon]

Those m stripes

[MrBarry123]

After seeing the M2 at the latest SS, it's grown on me hugely however this looks rubbish.

[silentbrown]

I'm probably alone here, but the 'M' stripes don't offend me too much. Echoes of the 2002 Turbo livery.



(Clarification - the "road car" stripes in the original article!)

[V8A*ndy]

So BMW must think they are going to make/sell a lot of M2s then.

[British Beef]

What a load of crap. So all the stick on ste and body kit most "look at me's" want is available, but the performance enhancing kit, even the stripped out interior, the lovely seats, a freer flowing exhaust are not available.

Meeting at BMW HQ deciding what should be offered to zee public:
Answer: Only zee st vich costs peanuts to make and can be sold for zee fortune, zee body kit mainly ya!

[AW111]

Any ideas on how much BMW pay for the rights to provide the safety car?

Do they get their money's worth?




If they were to produce a competitive GP bike, I may be less unimpressed.

[arkenphel]

I miss the days when BMW made an M car to the best of their ability and that was that. What they do now is sell you a half assed car with a piss poor sounding exhaust (I'm looking at you, M4) and styling that needs to be enhanced by bits that should have come with the car anyway (Like the E36 M3 with the factory spec splitter).

[Artey]

The arketing division is on top of its game like they've never been before.

[MOTK]

silentbrown said:

I'm probably alone here, but the 'M' stripes don't offend me too much. Echoes of the 2002 Turbo livery.

(Clarification - the "road car" stripes in the original article!)

Sadly for me they just remind me of this monstrosity I see every day when I leave my house

[kambites]

MOTK said:

Sadly for me they just remind me of this monstrosity I see every day when I leave my house

That's priceless.

[Ares]

arkenphel said:

I miss the days when BMW made an M car to the best of their ability and that was that. What they do now is sell you a half assed car with a piss poor sounding exhaust (I'm looking at you, M4) and styling that needs to be enhanced by bits that should have come with the car anyway (Like the E36 M3 with the factory spec splitter).

Its called appealing to a broad target market. The Automotive business is a business. Going more extreme would push the price up, and decrease the available market.

Better to get a large market, and let the enthusiasts either tweak, or go for an extreme variant (CSL etc).

FWIW. I wouldn't say the M3/M4 soundtrack is piss poor. I think it's just right. Its no V8, but its not a V8. As an I6 is sounds great. I wouldn't want it any louder.

[kambites]

BMW in general, and the M division specifically, do not exist to make cars for driving enthusiasts; they exist to make a profit.

[Leins]

arkenphel said:

I miss the days when BMW made an M car to the best of their ability and that was that. What they do now is sell you a half assed car with a piss poor sounding exhaust (I'm looking at you, M4) and styling that needs to be enhanced by bits that should have come with the car anyway (Like the E36 M3 with the factory spec splitter).

Kind of playing Devil's advocate here, but one wonders what the difference to the consumer is compared to homologation changes made to the M3 back in the 80s. It didn't start off with a 2.5L, adjustable spoilers, special Recaros, etc.

[silentbrown]

MOTK said:

Sadly for me they just remind me of this monstrosity I see every day when I leave my house

I take it all back. Can't you get a reduction on your rent/council tax because of that?

[MOTK]

It's a particularly abhorrent thing to look at for sure, perhaps no more so than my neighbours child though it has to be said.
I have however been waiting to meet the guy that orders a car like this with interest, due to my weak stomach though I tend to try and avoid turning left out of my house where it usually resides. I guess the question is is it BMWs fault that people want to buy a stupidly powerful bus with no space inside and then put stripes all over it and give them a shed load of money for doing so? Or in the case of this M2 pay them a bunch of cash for silly bits of carbon and stripes. They're all at it. A lot of people actually pay money to read the daily mail.

Edited by MOTK on Friday 12th February 21:13

Edited by MOTK on Friday 12th February 21:15

[AER]

If you're going to have unsubtle, look at me stripes, surely the full monty safety car stripes should be the ones to go for. Doesn't sound like they're in the catalogue though.

Shame really as, if any stripes are cool, the safety car's stripes are waay cooler than the stty token LB-GTi stripes on offer.

[nickfrog]

kambites said:

BMW in general, and the M division specifically, do not exist to make cars for driving enthusiasts; they exist to make a profit.

Like any other business really. I do think they achieve profitability by making road cars for driving enthusiasts too. Plenty of driving enthusiasts on the road, track days or TF days in new BMWs having fun within the constraints of the cars.

[fourscore]

MOTK said:

It's a particularly abhorrent thing to look at for sure, perhaps no more so than my neighbours child though it has to be said.
I have however been waiting to meet the guy that orders a car like this with interest, due to my weak stomach though I tend to try and avoid turning left out of my house where it usually resides. I guess the question is is it BMWs fault that people want to buy a stupidly powerful bus with no space inside and then put stripes all over it and give them a shed load of money for doing so? Or in the case of this M2 pay them a bunch of cash for silly bits of carbon and stripes. They're all at it. A lot of people actually pay money to read the daily mail.

Edited by MOTK on Friday 12th February 21:13

Edited by MOTK on Friday 12th February 21:15

wow...that's a lot of hate.