Back in the day BMW models used to be quite popular in rally and hillclimb events. Even though those days are far gone and an official entry by the Bavarian manufacturer in such dealings is no longer a thing, private teams are still enjoying the benefits of its front engine, rear drive setup in various races. One such team took part in last year’s Gurnigel Hillclimb and it used a modified BMW M2 that made us quite curious.
The reason I’m saying that is because this Dahler Competition Line BMW is as close to the rumored BMW M2 CS as it gets. The internet has been filled with all sorts of reports lately regarding the possibility of seeing a special edition M2 soon with the ‘CS’ letters stuck to its trunk lid. And just like its M4 CS brother, it would truly be something special. That’s because there’s a rather high chance that the M division will bestow it with the S55 3-liter straight six mill otherwise found in standard M3 and M4 models.
Admittedly, it will be a de-tuned version, good for only some 400 HP but, when coupled with the great chassis and light weight of the already brilliant BMW M2, the results could be quite intoxicating. The car in the footage below has quite a lot more power than that, with the Swiss tuner claiming that it puts out 540 HP and 730 Nm (538 lb-ft) of torque, but the comparison still stands since it is using an S55 engine.
Of course, trying to figure out whether the upcoming BMW M2 CS will be as just as brutal as the car tearing up mountain roads in the video is hard to tell and unlikely due to the power output gap. Nevertheless, it’s good to know that if the Club Sport model will really come with the twin-turbo S55 mill under its hood, tuning options to make it push out even more than 500 HP are already available. The question is, would that be too much?
[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/zBIfle-wdIM” width=”640″ height=”360″]
This sounds so much racier than the N55… I get that people like how smooth the N55 and the B58 sound, i do too, but for a sport car the S55’s raspy and bassy note fits much better
The M2 CS is gonna be a BEAST !
LOL, you might need an ear test. That farty mess is not even on the same planet compared to the M2’s N55 with a *stock* exhaust. The S55 sounds like a badly tuned 3cyl engine. This video is just conclusive proof that removing the N55B30TO erodes the core of what makes the M2 so special. Every time I take my M2 to the track, a car meet, or even just cruising around, people regularly tell me how incredible it sounds. Every week at least one person will follow me with their windows down. Last track day I had an M4 owner wondering how his car could sound so different despite being a straight 6 as well. The M2 CS will impress YouTube commenters, for sure, but for people who don’t judge cars with a spreadsheet, the soul of the car, that exotic, raspy, hollow howl, the metallic rip over 5000rpm, the way the sounds blend and change over the rpm range, those things are important for those of us that love cars with a soul.
Spoken like a true sheep. M cars over the years have been distinguished from the rest of the range with their performance, their visual attributes but also the very unique sound they make. Wether it was liked (S85, S65), or hated (S54, S63), it has always been a part of the package.
I think it’s something that has been lacking with the 1M and the M2 because they use “regular” BMW engines. The M2 CS will finally a true modern day M3, with everything it implies. Including the S engine and the unique sound.
I’m a ‘sheep’? What M car do you own? Also how is an engine with forged crank, pistons, new intake, exhaust manifold, oil pan etc. ‘regular’? There is nothing unique about the sound of the S55, well, it is uniquely awful. It’s also painfully obvious you’ve never heard an M2 in real life. It sounds nothing like a 1M and nothing like an S55 engined car. The idiocy of calling a track special M2 CS a ‘true modern day M3’ is magnificently ignorant of the history of M cars being ROAD cars first that anyone can obtain. This modern world of fake limited editions that people have to enjoy vicariously via YouTube is the exact opposite of what should be happening. If you’re already living that life, fine, enjoy it, but now that I can actually afford these things, I’m pretty pissed that the company I’ve idealised for years is suddenly uninterested in making cars I want to buy, other than the M2, which I did.
I didn’t know that not having an M car makes you unable to have your own opinion ? The engine in the M2 is still an N55, and the same as the M40i anyway. Your opinion is obviously biased by the fact you own an M2, the S55 has one of the most easily recognizable note on the market period. While the M2 doesn’t exactly sound like all the other N55 cars, it’s not really not far off. If you say the opposite, you’re in denial.
The M2 CS isn’t supposed to be a track special like the GTS or a CSL, just something in between more in the line of an M3 E30 for example. Historically the M cars weren’t mass produced. The E30 was built for homologation but exceeded the numbers because of the public response if i’m not mistaken, but it’s still pretty rare, the E28 is also a rare car as it was hand built and same thing for the E34. All three were extremely expensive, so not quite obtainable by anyone.
Plus the most liked M cars are the special and rare ones: the M1, the E30 Sport Evolution, the E46 CSL, the S54 M Coupe, the 1M, the manual E60 M5… All really rare. The E39 might be the only fan favorite that isn’t as rare. So having a limited production has nothing with being a true M cars, it might even help.