2018 BMW M2 Pure Performance review

BMW DOES not yet offer a Competition, CS or GTS version of its M2 – not yet, anyway – but you can sort of build a muscled-up version yourself if you don’t hold back in the M Performance Parts optional accessories catalogue.

For very serious research purposes, BMW Australia has built an M2 test car dripping in M Performance optional parts.

Circling the baby M car, the silver quad exhaust pipes catch your eye and you feel like a pervert of sorts kneeling to look under the rear of the car. But you are treated to a delicious sight.

Start the car and there’s also a delicious sound. To most ears, the stock M2 sounds fine – good, actually – but as ever, there will be people out there to whom good is not good enough.

For $4490 excluding fitment, the M Performance system gives the M2 a bit of a shoutier note, as you would expect if you bought it.

Gurgling into life at start-up, the system comes with a remote that hilariously, itself, comes with a warning, “use on public roads will invalidate vehicle approval”. They could have just said it was illegal... but press the button (on a, err, private road?) and it goes from Street to Track and channels a deeper, raspier rumble.

Almost like the turbo-fed cylinders are spun by a flat-plane crank. You can hear each pulse ping pong down the pipes with the sole aim to disrupt peace. It’s loud, but it does sound good.

The exhaust is the second most expensive part clinging to this M Performance parts test bed. The fully forged Y-Spoke 19s are a whopping $8839. Then there are the carbon-fibre mirror caps ($750), front flics ($1658), side flics ($1658) and spoiler ($748). The stickers are $495, and the grille’s been finished in gloss black for $440.

None of these parts affect the car’s performance as much as the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s that junk the stock Super Sports for $562. Spanning 245mm and 265mm wide in a staggered arrangement, the road-legal semis give it huge grip without corrupting the balance, feedback, and agility delivered by the car’s M3-derived suspension.

The M2 is a focused-feeling sports car on the road, but an absolute weapon on track. They also smooth the car’s slight edginess under power and at sharp direction change. Just make sure they’re hot, at which point they deliver incredible lateral grip.

Inside the car, opting for the visual stuff (along with sport pedals and an Alcantara-covered steering wheel) is a subjective choice. None of this stuff is what you’d call cheap, and you’d doubtless be able to find a lot of similar cool gear in the aftermarket for less.

However, the drawcards of the factory BMW dress-up stuff is convenience, that warm and fuzzy OEM feeling and, crucially for some, a fully intact standard warranty.

2018 BMW M2 PURE PERFORMANCE SPECS:
Engine: 2979cc inline-6, DOHC, 24v, turbo
Power: 272kW @ 6500pm
Torque: 465Nm @ 1400rpm
Weight: 1495kg
0-100km/h: 4.5sec (claimed)
Price: $115,696 (as tested)

Like: Hellish soundtrack; huge grip
Dislike: No power gain; stock sound already good
Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars