Might now we have one more repeat winner? The BMW M2 returns to the Motor Authority Finest Automobile To Purchase finalists’ circle in search of the win, once more. 

The BMW M2 received the Motor Authority Finest Automobile To Purchase 2017 award when it debuted. The unanimous vote cited its near-flawless dynamics. The coupe simply begged to be pushed exhausting, the turbo-6 sang a candy tune, and it felt fairly pure for a contemporary M automobile. 

Seven years later, the second-generation M2 is solely not the identical automobile. Sooner, bigger, and extra highly effective, the newest BMW M2 would border on M3 territory—if the M3 had been nonetheless a coupe.

The essential M2 system hasn’t modified. A high-performance turbo-6 pairs with a handbook transmission or an computerized inside a two-door, rear-wheel-drive format.

2024 BMW M2

The three.0-liter turbo-6 develops plentiful energy. It’s rated at 453 hp–up 48 hp from the outgoing M2 and 88 hp greater than the M2 when it received in 2017–and 406 lb-ft of torque. The slick-shifting 6-speed handbook transmission can take the automobile from 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds whereas the 8-speed computerized goes even faster at 3.9 seconds. The usual 6-speed would earn our nod as a result of we #GiveAShift, although the ZF 8-speed ranks among the many greatest within the enterprise.

Faster than ever, the M2 has gotten larger than ever, too. General size grew by 4.7 inches, the monitor acquired 1.5 inches wider within the entrance and 1.6 inches within the rear, and the wheelbase has been stretched by 2.1 inches. All this interprets to an M2 that’s extra livable and cozy than earlier than, however much less tossable and enjoyable. Although it posts sooner lap occasions and dials in corners with surgical precision, this M2 feels extra numb. 

Stout brakes by no means pale throughout our check drives. That’s as a result of enormous 6-piston entrance calipers seize 15.0-inch rotors with single-piston calipers that clamp down on 14.6-inch rotors within the again. 

The evolutionary design might sound unfinished. The field flares learn like old-school cues, and blunt entrance and rear ends bookend the coupe. The squared-off kidney grilles, particular to the M2, don’t look too obnoxious. 

2024 BMW M2

Contained in the M2 provides extra tech, which was one thing we wished much less of within the final M2, with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster paired with a ten.3-inch touchscreen beneath a single panel of glass. The usual entrance chairs get quite a bit proper, however the optionally available carbon-fiber buckets constrict some drivers an excessive amount of, particularly across the very pronounced seat-bottom bolsters. 

At  $63,195 the BMW M2 reassures drivers irrespective of whether or not they’re on a every day route or a spectacular weekend run.  However does larger and sooner equal higher? Is it the Finest Automobile To Purchase 2024? Test again on Jan. 3 once we reveal the winner, together with the champs from our sister websites, The Automobile Connection and Inexperienced Automobile Stories.