Traditional enthusiast vehicles are on short supply these days. Lightweight, rear-wheel drive, manual transmission creations are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. So when an automaker promises a new model with just that combination, it makes sense that a heaping ton of hype is piled onto such a vehicle.
When BMW introduced the 1 Series M in 2010, the hype was rewarded with a compact, powerful sports car with all the best bits from the M3, excluding its heavy V8. While its life was short lived, news of a successor rose through the enthusiast community. The M2, based on the 2 Series is coming, but there’s bit a lot of rumors flying around about what will make it a full-fledged M car. So let’s add fuel to the fire with a new report from 2addicts.com.
On the 2 Series forum, a Bimmerpost member claims to have the final power figures for the 2016 M2, and they aren’t quite as jaw-dropping as we expected. A tuned version of BMW’s N55 twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six will make a reported 365 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque. To put that figure in context, the M235i makes 320 hp and 330 lb-ft of torque. A measly 45 hp and 13 lb-ft of torque boost, you say? Well, for a few reasons, those numbers make sense.
Porsche is constantly struggling to keep the Cayman from stealing sales from its 911, and the only way to do that is by holding back its performance capabilities. BMW is now faced with the same dilemma. The M2 needs to be enough of a performance bump to justify the M badge and extra cost over an M235i, but it can’t be the 400 hp monster we’d all like it to be, because its lighter weight would likely rob sales from the M4.
And let’s not forget that M cars have never just been about power. A meaty engine is critical, but just as the 1 Series M gained stronger brakes, a stiffer suspension, more aggressive body, and other high performance hardware, the M2 won’t just be an M235i with a few extra horses.
365 hp might just be the perfect balance of power and handling that enthusiasts need, even if “moar power” is what we say we want.
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