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On the list of cars I've been really looking forward to driving in 2016.
The BMW M2 is up there with the Focus RX and Ashton DB11.
You see, BMW's little coupe [UNKNOWN] has been given a work over.
Better guys in the M division.
And I hope to deity is least jumpy this week, that it's not rubbish.
The ingredients are all there.
It's got a turbo charge, 3 liter in-line six, with the pistons and crank from the M3 and an improved cooling system.
It kicks out 365 brake horsepower and 343 pound foot.
And it's promised to hit 60 from rest in 4.3 seconds with a dual clutch.
4.5 if you keep the stick shift.
Top speed is 155 miles an hour, unless you spec the M Driver's Package.
Then it's 168.
But at as we all know, there's more to a good car than just power and numbers.
It has to handle right.
It has to feel right.
It has to be not Thankfully the guys at M, know how to make cars that well aren't.
M Cars tends to offer a mix of silly performance, scalper like handling, and a hint of heroism.
There's lots of crossover bits from the M3 and M4 in the engine to make it handle right.
You've got massive brakes with spoke tires.
Just for the car, it's wider in the front and the rear than a standard two series.
And it's got the end differential.
Which Which allows for some outright fun when conditions allow.
There are a few driving modes and if you inspect the manual, in sport and sport plus, it will also lift on downshifts, to make you look like a proper heel-and-toe hero.
There's also the In Dynamic Mode that allows for controlled drifts and the fabled smoky burnout mode.
Yeah, the cheaper Ford Mustang has it, but there's a certain joy to having it on a straight laced BMW, isn't there?
A touch of hooliganism, in a tweed suit.
When I drove the MT3 5i, the previous fastest T series money could buy, I wondered whether BMW actually needed to make an M2, it was that good.
But now the M2 is here, so it's trying to find out whether the new fastest 2 series money can buy, He's actually any cop.
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The M2355 is fantastically fast.
It's turner pace is well it's awesome.
This is another level.
They turned the wick up.
And it just flies.
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Loan down.
You get a little bit grunt.
And then the turbos kick in.
You push to the back of your seat.
And it flings itself down the road.
It's got a really nice howl to it.
And it really adds to the experience of the car.
It is proper royalty, proper angry, proper loud, a little bit of the ease pumped into the cabinet.
But now much, and it still sounds good from the outside.
The [UNKNOWN] is wicked.
It's so good.
It's kind of not cheap.
But it's a really nice short direct action.
And with the manual if you [INAUDIBLE].
Which is quite handy if you're not back Good at the heel and toe or anything like that.
And it sounds really cool as well.
So, right now, we're in 6th gear traveling at not fast, just knock it down to 4th, and it'll blip, maybe down to 3rd.
And you seemless down changes.
It's a really nice smooth gear box.
The clutch is nice and light as well.
So the whole thing.
Just works beautifully together.
The brakes on this are a little bit grabby.
But they do need to be to scrub off speed.
They work really nicely, and there's a decent movement to the pedal as well.
And then you throw in the throttle response.
And well its silky smooth.
BMW must have spent so much time.
By making sure this is perfect.
It's so much different to the M3 and M4.
This feels more like a sportscar.
This feels a bit more hardcore.
A bit, well.
A bit better, to be honest.
It feels awesome.
It feels [UNKNOWN].
It feels lithe.
The steering is fan.
Fantastic, you can thread it through corners, you know exactly where the front wheels are.
Everything about the car is so communicative.
It wants you to know what it's doing, it wants you to know what's going on.
And if it does start to slide, either intentionally or unintentionally, you can feel what the car's doing and you can either correct it, Or have a bit more fun with it.
And it won't bite you, it won't spit you out the northern bits of the road.
It's wants to work with you to give you a proper driving experience.
And that is something that's missing these days.
When you look at the class this is in, the car that it's up against well you've got an Audi RS-3 You can see LA 45.
BMW says a Porsche K, I'm not quite sure I agree.
It's quite a bit more expensive but you basically looking at hyper action and things like that.
And they are great but, they're all wheel drive and they're not quite as smooth, they're not quite as driver oriented.
The Focus RS is a fantastic car for this to go up against, but it's a bit harder edged, it's a bit more hard core.
Where as this sits at that balances where it's comfortable when you want it to be, but then you can press a few buttons.
I make it go, make it quick.
But again when it is going hard, it's not uncomfortable.
It's still manageable.
So you can drive down the motorway in Sports or Sport Plus and your [UNKNOWN] won't fall out.
I will say that the seats are not comfortable.
I spent a day in this yesterday My back was on fire.
It was awful.
The peddlebox, as well, is quite small.
So don't wear wide shoes.
You'll end up tripping over yourself a bit.
But the rest of it is fantastic.
This is a car that's been designed and engineered for driving pleasure.
The NW wants you to have fun in your M2.
And it gives you every allowance to do so.
[INAUDIBLE] and her machines legacy and BWM really can't afford to naff that up.
And, thankfully, I really don't think they have.
This car is fantastic.
It feels great, it looks great, it sounds great.
Its an analog Old car.
In a time where analog is dying out, where people want cars that do stuff for you.
This allows you to get involved, to get stuck in.
There's a tiny performance penalty.
For going with a stick shift.
But that's it.
Long live analog and long live the M2 that allows us to enjoy it.
Having thought about it, having spent time with it, I honestly think that the M2 is gonna go down as one of the great M cars.
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