BMW 2 Series models outed

BMW carefully stage-managed plans to unveil its all-new 2-Series range during January's Detroit Motor Show have been upstaged by its own South African outpost.

The website of BMW South Africa last week posted the full specification and local pricing of the entire range through its car configurator tool. Although it was quickly removed, motoring.com.au doesn't need a big window of opportunity.

Officially, the BMW 2 Series range will replace the 1 Series Coupe from next March in Europe, much as the 4 Series has replaced the 3 Series Coupe in the next segment upstream.

While it didn't post pictures of the car, the South African configurator did confirm the initial lineup would include a 220i four-cylinder petrol model, a 220d turbo-diesel and a faster M Performance Automobiles M235i, complete with a twin turbocharged, six-cylinder petrol engine.

A direct replacement for the M135i, the M235i will hit 100km/h in 4.8 seconds, according to BMW South Africa, thanks to tweaked version of the M135i's engine. It will have 240kW of power, which is a small, but significant lift from the M135i's 235kW, but BMW sources insist the focus has been on delivery, not numbers.

Indeed, they boast that it laps the Nurburgring's Nordschleife faster than the old 1M Coupe thanks, in part, to the mechanical limited-slip differential option.

Like its predecessor, the M235i will be offered with either a six-speed manual gearbox or an eight-speed automatic transmission, complete with paddle shifters. Both versions will run to a limited 250km/h.

BMW South Africa listed this as a 503,079 Rand ($53,651) machine, making it the most expensive of the 2 Series family.

The cheapest of them will be the 220i at 366,257 Rand ($39,000), with a 135kW version of BMW's 2.0-litre turbo four helping it to hit 100km/h in a brisk 7.0 seconds and on to a 235km/h top speed.

Splitting the two petrol powerplants on price will be the 393,000 Rand ($41,912) 220d. Its 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel will boast the same 135kW (and top speed) as the 220i, but it will have 380Nm of torque at its disposal and will take only 0.1 seconds longer to hit 100km/h.

According to the BMW South Africa site, the 2 Series will receive more standard equipment than the 1 Series, with the spec list running to M Sport brakes and suspension, sports seats, rain-sensing wipers, active cruise control and electric power steering. Satellite navigation, parking sensors, adaptive suspension and a sharper auto transmission will be offered as options.

While BMW South Africa gave the game away with the 2 Series range, it hasn't mentioned anything about the much-rumoured M2.

Some at BMW are content with delivering a watered-down M Performance Automobiles version of the 2 Series, but there is a push to bring the full weight of M to bear on the new coupe to replace the cult-status 1M Coupe and give AMG's small car expansion something to think about.

That would mean swinging the M4's new S55B30 motor into the 2 Series engine bay and, while it would fit, conservative forces at BMW remain unconvinced the extra effort will deliver a profit.

With 316kW of power and more than 500Nm of torque, the 3.0-litre, twin-turbo, in-line six has the potential to turn the M2 into an M3/M4 killer, at far less money.

While the commercial people at BMW are concerned by the threat, M's engineering people are having to be strongly held back from doing the car anyway, chiefly because many of the M3/M4's critical powertrain pieces bolt directly in to the smaller car.

There would be significant costs in time and money, though, with all-new carbon-fibre roof, one-piece carbon-fibre propshaft and bootlid pieces needing to be designed and built, but the harder work will be in the suspension.

The M3/4's suspension pieces, rear subframe and triangular reinforcements are too large for the 2 Series footprint, so it would require a lot of unique design, engineering and aluminium casting to bring to market.

And there's always the threat it poses to its more profitable big brother, the M4.

A convertible version of each of the 2 Series models will also follow the coupes, with a six- to 12-month gap between the launches.

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