It's easy to forget sometimes, what with the BMW range now as sprawling as it is, that the humble F22 2 Series was an important little car back on its 2013 introduction. Well, it was for PHey types, at least. Because while those after a two-door, rear-drive, small BMW before then would have to make do with the slightly dumpy 1 Series Coupe, here was a smart, stylish, desirable model based on the 1 Series instead. That it spawned the talented M235i, the engaging M2 and the superb M2 Competition only aided the 2 Series' cause - as did the fact it was unique. None of its rivals could boast the balance of a front-engined, rear-drive layout.
Furthermore, despite the 1 Series having now migrated to the front-drive based UKL1 platform, the next 2 Series - the G42 - will use a version of the 4 Series' CLAR architecture. It keeps rear-wheel drive, basically, making it the smallest BMW to do so and the only car in the 1/2 Series line up that isn't built from front-drive foundations. Which is encouraging.
To be honest, these pics don't tell us a great deal. The 2 Series has four wheels, a front, middle, a back and exhausts - all good news. There are a few details of note, however, if you look a bit closer. The silhouette is more of a notchback than the slightly sleeker 4 Series, with quite a long bonnet in relation to the rear. The models seen here with larger wheels, bigger exhaust pipes, silver mirrors and blue brake calipers are most likely M Performance 2 Series, and come with a slight rear lip spoiler to mark that out as well. Both the M235i and M240i were fairly subtle given their performance, and that looks set to continue with the next generation.
As for the actual styling, we can only really make educated guesses for now. Expect 4 and 8 Series influences as opposed to 1 and 3, with BMW keen to give the coupes their own distinctive identities to reflect a more premium billing. With the opprobrium faced by the 1 Series, that's probably a good thing; given how most people have reacted to the 4, perhaps not. From here it seems the grilles might be conventionally arranged (and sized), though who knows what might be lurking when the covers come off.
The G42 2 Series is set to be a 2022 BMW model, so a debut - be that virtual or otherwise - seems likely for some point in 2021. There's an M3 and M4 to be excited about first, don't forget. And then the new M5. And probably four other models we've forgotten about, too...
Image credit: S.Baldauf/S.B.Medien
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