Exclusive Club
How do you improve on something that didn’t really need improving on? It’s not a question many people asked, but BMW still saw fit to answer it. Twice. The M2 has already been established as a fantastic car. It’s a small, front-engine, rear-drive coupe with a hot-headed powerhouse under the hood – and available with a 6-speed manual. Couple that with BMW M’s engineering prowess and you’ve got a pretty winning formula. Then came the M2 Competition. Out went the old 3.0L turbocharged straight-6, and in its place…a different 3.0L turbocharged straight-6. This one made 40 more horsepower, stopped quicker, and generally looked much more M than the ‘standard’ M2 with touches like aerodynamic M mirrors, all kinds of aggressive vents and diffusers and a sportier looking interior. So where does the CS lie?
Once again, this new iteration is up 40 horsepower, giving the CS 450 horsepower, which gets it from 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds flat (with the dual-clutch transmission). That’s 0.2 seconds shaved off the Competition. As hardcore as the Competition was, the CS takes things further with race-tuned suspension all around. But that doesn’t mean it’s unbearable in daily life. Because it has adaptive suspension, it actually ends up being a little more comfortable than the Competition in daily use. So what about taming the beast itself? The standard brakes on the Competition are 4-piston calipers at the front. On the CS, you get some very beefy 6-piston units in a bold red. They peek out behind the lightweight 19-inch gold alloys, which sadly, were not fitted to our tester’s winter tires.
So it drives faster, better and stops quicker. How will I be able to tell my exclusive vehicle apart from the rabble though? Well, if that gorgeous blue wasn’t enough, the CS also gets a carbon fibre hood that’s 50-percent lighter than the Competition’s. You’ll also see carbon fiber construction in the roof, mirrors, spoiler, diffuser and front splitter. Step inside and the sportiness is yet again, further amplified. The deeply bolstered bucket seats are reminiscent of racing seats, almost appearing like it would hold a four-point harness. The optional chunky alcantara steering wheel (which was a bit too thick for our liking – small hands) is grippy, precise and tight. There’s even more carbon fiber and alcantara appliques inside, plus an exclusive ‘CS’ badge on the dashboard.
But the gem of this for us was that sweet 6-speed manual. Sure, it’s not going to be faster than the DCT, but my goodness, this car deserves a third pedal. We cannot understate how rewarding it is to row your own gears in this car. Power is delivered so effortlessly and directly. There’s always a sense of immediacy. But it’s not scary. It’s controlled. BMW added rev matching to make it even more user friendly. But we know what you’re thinking. ‘I spent good money on this ultimate driver’s car, so let me drive it without any assistance! I don’t need rev matching.’ You’re right – maybe you don’t, if you are that sure of yourself. And lucky for you, you can disable it. But you’ve got to disable the other electronic safety aids too. BMW will let you drive this car to its limit, so long as you accept the potential consequences of doing so. Thankfully this is a road car built for the track, so by all means. Just do it safely and legally.
Let’s be honest though. This is a very limited run vehicle. Only 2,200 units will be produced, sending this generation of 2-series off with a bang. There’s a good chance these will be rarely used collector vehicles. So how does it operate in the real world? Quite well honestly. That adaptive suspension is firm, but not unforgiving when you set it to comfort. There’s a decent amount of headroom, and while they’re not great for a road trip, you can still fit grown people in the back for short trips. Not that you’d want to in a pandemic. Given that a new generation of 2-series is already on the road, it’s not surprising that this model has BMW’s previous generation of infotainment. This car really is old school, even if it’s to a fault. The fuel economy also reflects that. It wasn’t great. We got about 13.1 L/100km over a week, but it's worth noting there was zero effort to drive economically. It's hard to do that in this car, on account of how much fun it is. Would you really get a car like this for the economy though? It’s sad enough that most of these will never get pushed to their limits as it is. But if you must know, BMW say it'll get as good as 10.2 L/100 km.
The CS is the nail in the coffin for the previous generation of 2-series, and boy has it gone out with a bang. There’s no whimper about this. But what might make a potential buyer do so is the price. This thing is over $20,000 more than the M2 Competition, and having driven both, I’m not so sure that cost increase is justified when you try to look at the facts and figures side by side. For sheer driving joy, I’d go for the Competition any day and pocket that extra money. But for a certain buyer – one who craves exclusivity, rarity and demands the absolute best that this already great platform can offer, the M2 Club Sport will more than deliver.
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