2023 BMW M2 Review
2023 BMW M2
Base Price: $62,200
3.0 Straight 6 Twin Turbos
453 HP / 406 TQ
0-60 : 3.6 Seconds
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Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi
Let’s go ahead and get this out of the way first, yes the M2 looks like a mishmashed mess of a thing. BUT, give it a few days and it will grow on you. Could be a case of Stockholm Syndrome but after a week with the M2, I actually grew fond of it’s design. Yes, it still looked like Megatron but look at is this way:
“What kid didn’t want to drive around in a Decepticon?”
Looks aside, let’s get to the entire point of the BMW M2. It’s the drive. My God in heaven the drive! Is this one of the best sports cars for sale today?
Yes.
Is this one of the best sports cars made in the past decade?
Yes.
Is this one of the best sports cars ever made?
Undoubtly and without hesistation: YES.
It’s that good. There is nothing on the road that can match the M2 for it’s ferocity, nimbleness, approachability and civility.
Let’s start with the ferocity:
The venerable B58 powerplant is at it’s best in this M2. Yes you can find it in other models with higher power but in the M2, it retains it’s trademark smoothness, fatty and flat torque curve and superb everyday drivability. Oh and when you click one of the 3 M Modes, it also can turn into a rip snorting fire breathing beast of a thing. It can and will drop kick the M2 into the next city in a moments notice and keep on going without any discernible letup in torque or horsepower.
Or to put it another way: If there was ever an ICE equivalent to an EV drivetrain…it would be the B58.
Harnessing all of that gooey power is a beautiful, superb, masterful 6 speed manual! It’s not a half hearted attempt either (looking at you Mustang GT)…this manual transmission is a work of engineering art. Slipping into gear yields a sensation of sliding it into a velvet lined bolt action rifle. It’s so tactile and nuanced that you cannot help but make coooing noises each time you change gears.
It’s not just the shifting mechanism, it’s everything that encompasses the transmission that makes it truly special. To the perfectly weighted and measured clutch, to the ECU tuning which eliminates the dreaded Rev Hang that plagues other modern manuals, down to the expertly tuned rev match downshift…the entirety of the manual driving experience is nothing short of spectacular in this M2!
Handling wise, the M2 is in another planet compared to 99% of the cars on the road today. It’s completely unfazed but any amount of curve, angle, dip, hairpin or any other type of road you can throw at it! All it takes it are micro adjustments in the steering wheel to fling the M2 into a corner and the earlier you get on the throttle the better it responds, to the point it feels almost like an AWD vehicle. It just grips and claws its way around every single corner you can find and shrugs off ALL of them. This is all without any nervousness, twitchiness or anything else that would cause apprehension for it’s driver…it’s all inspiring, confidence boosting, morale lifting beauty of a thing!
Taking the road back home, the M2 turns into a Grand Touring machine. The ride is solid without being jarring or harsh…it’s just comfortable! Unlike other sport cars, whose cabins are claustrophobia inducing tombs like things (Supra), the M2 is downright airy! The tall greenhouse affords actual and usable space for the driver and passenger, along with actual usable rear seats and a huge freakin trunk!
Am I completely won over on this 2023 BMW M2? Yes.
So, it’s perfect right??
ALMOST! Other than two (nitpicky) things:
Gauges are utterly illegible
Seriously, without the HUD, there is no way of reading the actual speed and revs. it’s not possible
While the clutch overall is lovely…
It’s engagement point is vague
I cannot find anything else I would change, modify, alter or wish to be different on the M2. It’s simply:
“One of the best sports cars ever made”
