The BMW M2 CS is as good as it gets but it'll cost you

[MUSIC] This is brilliant. [MUSIC] This is the BMW. To see as the layout is traditional with a straight six in the front sending power to the rear wheel through a limited slip diff, and with a manual handbrake, analogue dials and the option of three pedals. It feels almost old fashioned when you get in. But don't underestimate this little package. This 75,000 pounds CS is the final fling for the empty. The first hit the road in 2016 and I'll say it again. It is real. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] The engine in this is the S 55 engine that was in the MT competition. But we've now got another 40 brake horsepower up to 444 brake horsepower. Torque stays the same but 406 pounds for the talk, but frankly, doesn't need any more. They still just want every punch where every If you want to get on the throttle, it's fabulous. I remember this S-55 engine in the first of the F-80 M3s and it was, well, kind of impressive but also just gave Start watch talks so quickly that it was quite spiky and tricky to drive with. As soon as you type it in, you can fit and leaning on that outside rear tire. Exactly how that sidewall is just sort of deforming exploring for grip of the time. I can On a really greasy day like this just feels fun whether you're going fast already just just stroking it along. Admittedly Michelin cup two tires on a cold wet winter's day still require some caution. But there is now a precision to the empty that the early car certainly didn't have [MUSIC] There is something of the Ferrari 488 or f8, both in its edginess, but also faithfulness and controllability. We've got adaptive dampers and And now so that's one of the big changes over EMG competition. I'd like to pass it down to CMG Comm. And actually the steps in this initially seem pretty small between comfort Sport and Sport Plus, instantly I've got all this set up so I have the dampers in comfort for the road. Then I've got the steering in sport and then the engine circles Everything in school plus because I just I love that responsiveness to throttle has really helped you stay through the quarter is using the throttle. we slow down for a second just go. Second gear through the revs. 7000 RPM is such a creamy Smooth engine. It's an absolute delight years and this actually is sounds best in the [UNKNOWN] competition not massively. It's not like a Porsche [UNKNOWN] engine but. It's still really, really good. It's strange, isn't it? Because I always think of BMW engines instantly I think of well, the BMW v 12. In the back of the McLaren f1 or, obviously the straight six. In the E4 M3 CSL amazing induction note, but also BMW has been famous for some amazing turbocharged engines. There was, of course, the great great grandfather, the 2002 turbo, and the forbear to this the pugnacious 1M. But I also think of the astonishing F1 engines. BMW produced in the 1980s for brothers and others, putting out up to 1500 brake horsepower in qualifying to the so called grenade engines because they've barely lost a single lap. Let's talk about gearboxes because this guy's obviously got the DCT gearbox Which is an optional extra, but it's standard, you get a six speed manual gearbox, and I've done a lot of miles actually in a manual version of this car. And it's definitely the one to have because it does add just an extra layer of interaction with the engine. And somehow, I don't know it just brings this whole car live. Even more. This DCT is by no means bad. I do feel sometimes it can just it just thumps a little it can make that torque delivery seem a little more abrupt than it needs to. So I like that there is the option so if for whatever reason You really don't want to manual, can't have a manual for any reason, then you still get to experience the M2 CS. But there is no doubt the manual is the one to have, if you have the choice. There really isn't a lot I don't like about [SOUND] Go through the corner of this big steering wheel he got in his lane. I was kind of thinking, not sure about this, but to be honest, do you seem to forget about it? Pretty much straight away. It just works. And of course it's covered in Alcantara which always helps in my mind. I love the fact that in this car there's just a faithfulness to it. It's a little a car, it fits on the road and you feel like you can chalk it around. Even on slippery roads is just they don't take slides just using the rear end. Out there through the corner. The one big problem with the CS however, is you get pretty much all the dynamics, most of the power and all the talk with the end to competition, which costs about 30% less. What you don't get with the competition though, is this cars carbon fiber. [SOUND] Let's start down at the front of the car with the bonnet hood if you prefer and you really can feel as soon as you lift it up just how light it is. weighs about 11 kilos which is about half the weight. The standard bonnet. On the here, you can also see the carbon fiber strike brace, but that's of course, not unique to the CSX. Down, you can see those vents in the top here. Chart new MCs, come fiber splitter front and then as we move along the side, we have the optional Carbon ceramic brakes, which are identifiable by that gold tooth of the caliper peeking out from behind the rims. Overall, those brakes say 22 kilos and that is of course unsprung mass move along. Inside, we've got the carbon fiber centretown, which saves about two and a half kilos. Looks looks quite lightweight because it's just a bit more pared back and honest inside I would have liked to see in a bit more sort of lightweighting I suppose it could have got rid of the rear seats like the CSL made it from the CS into a CSL not kind of kind of liked to seen that but it of course taken some of the practicality away. The biggest piece of carbon fiber though really is this up here. The roof the thing that people really crying out for to make this in their eyes, a proper m car. And it's not just any carbon fiber roof either. It's not just cosmetic, like the performance variant. This is actually structural. So I've got two pieces, layers of carbon fiber With honeycomb in the middle, and the taken out the cross brace there, and it goes up from underneath, and it's a structural part of the car. Weighs just about just over four kilos so saves about 10 kilos, and obviously that's all up high as well so it lowers the center of gravity. Moving round to the back, we have This compiler, Gurney flap on the bootlid and also you've got the carbon fiber rear diffuser there as well. So, carbon fiber is a big, lightweight part of the CS. [BLANK_AUDIO] [SOUND] The one problem is despite all the carbon fiber Lightweight lightweight. This guy actually weighs pretty much the same as the competition, because some of the carbon fibres actually extra on top of what you would find on the empty competition. Plus, there are other things that add a bit of weight. Back in likely, adaptive dampers in this car, so lightweight, sort of which again, begs the question, is it worth it over an empty competition? Do you really need all that extra power and the ability to stiffen the dampers on the road? Probably not, but on the track. Well that might be a different story. [SOUND] [MUSIC] On track. [SOUND] This mtcs is a whole lot of fun. [SOUND] [LAUGH] Slides for miles. [SOUND] I've got everything ratcheted up a bit more actually because it is so slippery. today. I've just knocked down his back from one. It was a bit dry earlier and I did have it on That Sports Plus setting for the dampers there, and it did work. It's nice to just let you sit into slides more nicely. You definitely didn't want any comfort now it's been wetter and actually dialing it back to sport. It's definitely helped a bit, just give it a bit more progression particularly at the end of life. It comes back into line again. Even though it's really wet today, once you get some heat into those cup twos, it's staggering the amount of traction you can actually actually find. You'd have so much fun in this in a track day, I think because the nice thing is, is you don't have to drive it in a really narrow fashion. You can join us Chocolate corners. And you can keep it nice and neat, you can just just nibble away at the oversteer, it lets you do that and it still feels so beautifully. Just compact's. And I should really precise as well. I love this car. I really really love this car. And I think if you can get to the end of the day on track, and then just cruise home in total comfort When I first drove in mtcs I couldn't help wondering if BMW should have gone even further with it. made it more stripped out. Made it a full on CSL. But the more time I spent with it, the more I actually appreciated that usability it has retained. As a one-car garage, it would be pretty mighty. The downside is that it does mean the dynamic margins between the CS and significantly cheaper M2 competition are relatively small. But in a way, that's a good thing for most of us. The CS is the halo car. And if you can afford one or find one, it is better. But for those on a tighter budget, it's nice knowing that you get most of the CS in the month. more attainable competition.