BMW M2 CS 2020 Review

BMW Australia drew a big response to the impending arrival of the M2 CS when pricing was announced back in February, with the first small batch snapped up in no time and another shipment soon dispatched.

All up, Australia’s total 84-unit allocation has now landed here, and while most have been sold, BMW has confirmed that a handful are still available in dealerships.

Priced from $139,900 plus on-road costs, the BMW M2 CS sits $37K upstream of the M2 Competition, which starts at $102,900. This is for the six-speed manual version of each, with the seven-speed M-DCT dual-clutch auto adding $7500 on the CS or $7000 on the M2 Comp.

Just in case you don’t have the chance to hammer the M2 CS around a race track every day, BMW has thoughtfully provided visual reminders of why you paid so damned much more money than you would have for the brilliant M2 Competition.

The most obvious of these lurk around the M2 CS’s body, where the parts look as hideously expensive as the price gap to its little brother.

There’s a new front bumper, with a deep carbon-fibre splitter that won’t like speed bumps. There’s an unmistakeable central air extraction point, sort of an S-duct, in the new carbon-fibre reinforced plastic bonnet. There is also a carbon-fibre roof, a la the M3 and M4.

The rear carbon-fibre spoiler has grown so large that BMW M claims there is no lift at 200km/h, making it easier and safer at high speeds.

And there are the boots. BMW M offers a choice of the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres (sized at 245/35 up front or 265/35 down the back) or the hard-core Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres fitted to our test car (same size, no extra cost).

Normally, the more track-focused cars find 50kg or 100kg to rip out and leave in the pit garage, but not with the M2 CS, which remains at the M2 Competition’s 1575kg (manual; DCT: 1650kg).

There are the sports seats from the BMW M4 CS and there’s even a back seat, but it still uses a comically thick steering wheel of the kind BMW M has come to love.

The brakes are bigger, too, with 400mm/six-piston fronts and 380mm/four-piston rears (and there’s a carbon-ceramic option for a cool $15,000), and the springs on the MacPherson strut front end and multilink rear are stiffer, too.

Other available options on the M2 CS include Misano Blue metallic paint ($1700) and a gold matte V-spoke alloy wheel design ($1000).

The hardware is similar to the little brother, but the BMW M2 CS’s details are different.

It supports the same S55 twin-turbo 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine as the M2 Competition (and the outgoing M3 and M4), but it has a new exhaust system for more loud and a touch more power.

A 40 horsepower rise sees it to 331kW at 6250rpm (1000rpm up on the M2 Competition) and the torque delivers a broad plateau of 550Nm goodness from 2350rpm to 5500rpm.

The uprated tune of the S55 called for more cooling, so it now has a central and two side radiators, plus there’s the addition of an engine oil cooler.

There is, remarkably, still a six-speed manual gearbox in the family, though the higher take-up rate trophy goes to the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which helps the M2 CS to 100km/h in 4.0 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 250km/h.

It uses a retuned Active M Differential on the rear axle, too, and there are additional pieces of reinforcing braces under the body and in the engine bay.

The adaptive dampers are standard – and stiffer – and they’ve never been available in an M2 before, and the geometry of the suspension has been fiddled for more negative camber for more turn-in grip.

While the BMW M2 CS interior is surprisingly practical for a stripper track-playa, it isn’t the highlight here.

There is a rear seat, there isn’t an armrest (because the new carbon-fibre centre console didn’t have room for it) and it uses the hard-core, manually adjustable seats from the BMW M4 CS, with some more Alcantara thrown in.

Alright, then. Fun bits.

Considerably less delightful than the M2 Competition over 95 per cent of all possible driving circumstances, the M2 CS becomes considerably more delightful during the other five per cent.

Yes, it’s true. The M2 CS is often a chore, especially compared to the beautifully judged balance of pace and practicality of the Competition.

It is hard. It rides hard. It thumps and bangs over bumps and expansion joints. It’s obviously one-dimensional.

But, then again, what a single dimension.

The M2 CS is fiercely, belligerently fast when the roads turn interesting.

You won’t feel the extra horsepower under normal circumstances, but it’s there when you need it to fire out of a corner.

You’ll only curse the front end’s rigidity around town, but then you’ll love the way it seems to tighten up the steering feel and add nuance when the bends arrive.

You’ll wonder who in their right minds thought up these diff settings, only to write a memo to thank them when you find the mountain pass or the track day.

It’s not as friendly at the limit as the Competition, but the limit is considerably higher. It’s happy to slide the tail in low-speed corners, but it remains user-friendly to the point of slight understeer in fast corners.

The new dampers immediately silence mid-corner bumps, with the adaptive units feeling more accurate and capable than the standard dampers, and there’s little body roll and even less chance of the car being thrown off line.

The barking, snarling engine note lends it an air of authority that the chassis lives up to in the winding stuff, whipping from turn-in point to turn-in point like it was born for it.

Which it was.

There’s a lot to like about the BMW M2 CS, and a lot to shake your head about, too.

The most obvious question is whether it’s worth the extra coin over the M2 Competition, and the answer is a clear, firm: no.

A sensible M2 fan recognises that the Competition is by far the more rounded, more capable, more versatile weapon of the two.

But there will be days and there will be roads where you wish you had the M2 CS.

Conversely, if you bought the M2 CS, an awful lot of roads will make you curse yourself for not taking the M2 Competition.