Entrance-wheel drive would possibly work in the present day for many small BMWs, however when it got here to the spirited 1 Collection Coupe, it was a nonstarter. The unique E82 two-door coupe, together with its convertible sibling, the E88, was outlined by the old-school thrills of rear-wheel drive. This setup made the automotive an outlier in its section, providing driving dynamics that harkened again to BMW’s roots. On the top quality was the firecracker 1 Collection M Coupe, a automotive that we personally cherish, and personal. The limited-run marvel (6,309 models) packed 335 horsepower from the N54 TwinTurbo into its compact body. Identified affectionately because the 1M, it grew to become an on the spot cult traditional, promoting double the anticipated numbers and leaving fanatics clamoring for extra.
Naturally, changing the 1M and its rear-wheel-drive ethos posed a singular problem for BMW. Across the center of the earlier decade, BMW was planning on pivoting the 1 Collection vary to a front-wheel drive household of vehicles, a transfer pushed principally by price effectivity. However for 2 (former) key executives—Klaus Fröhlich, Board Member for Analysis, and Ian Robertson, Board Member for Gross sales and Advertising and marketing—such a departure for the 1 Collection Coupe’s successor was unthinkable. This wasn’t simply one other small automotive; it was a halo mannequin for BMW’s efficiency credentials and an entry level for future M automotive house owners.
The Case for a Rear-Wheel-Drive Insurgent
“The previous 2002 was actually cool—the height of BMW-ness in some methods,” Robertson displays within the Steve Saxty’s “BMW by Design” books summing up the inspiration behind what he and Fröhlich needed to attain. The 2002 Turbo, launched in 1973, had been a uncooked and quirky sports activities automotive that no different model, besides maybe Alfa Romeo, dared to construct on the time. It represented all the things BMW stood for: daring efficiency, compact proportions, and rear-wheel-drive thrills. The pair envisioned a contemporary interpretation of that components.
For the brand new automotive to be a real BMW M product, it wanted a six-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive, no compromises. Some inside BMW instructed all-wheel drive (humorous sufficient that is coming in 2026) and even front-wheel drive, citing the broader platform technique. However Fröhlich and Robertson have been adamant: a front-wheel-drive M automotive was sacrilege, and something lower than a six-cylinder motor wouldn’t carry the legacy ahead. They pushed exhausting, finally gaining approval for a automotive that will change into the F87 M2, constructed on a cut-down model of the three Collection platform, very like the 2002 was derived from the Neue Klasse structure.
A Reduce-Down M4 and a Discount Halo
Saxys tells in his books that BMW’s engineers borrowed liberally from the F80 M3 and F82 M4, giving the M2 a strengthened chassis, uprated suspension, and a performance-oriented rear axle. The end result was a automotive that felt each bit as participating as its bigger siblings however in a tighter, nimbler bundle. Initially, there was no M engine for it, identical to the 1M’s. So the M model went to the subsequent smartest thing they’d: the three.0 liter six-cylinder N55 TwinScroll engine. It made 365 horsepower and was provided with a DCT and a six-speed handbook.
The F87 M2 Competitors mannequin got here two years later in 2018 that includes beneath the hood the turbocharged S55 inline-six engine, detuned from its utility within the F80 M3 and F82 M4. It now made 405 horsepower. For purists, this F87 M2 Competitors was the automotive to have. The M2 Competitors would now function the top of the two Collection lineup, with its efficiency credentials filtering all the way down to the extra attainable four-or-six cylinder fashions, and it could lure in youthful consumers who dreamed of in the future proudly owning an M3 or M4.
A Small Automotive with Large Affect
Whereas the F87 M2’s major mission was to function a non secular successor to the 1M and 2002 Turbo, it additionally had a broader affect on BMW’s lineup. Its improvement paved the best way for the two Collection Gran Coupe, the small four-door sedan (now in its second technology) aimed squarely on the Mercedes CLA-Class. But, there may be one dream that stay unrealized: the 2002 Turbo Hommage. BMW deliberate on construct this lovely 2002 with F87 M2 influences, however the quick timeline between mannequin modifications put the dream on a shelf someplace in Munich.
As a substitute, the F87 M2 laid the inspiration for the G87 M2, a automotive that elevates efficiency to new heights whereas sparking even higher debate with its polarizing design.
