The BMW M2 Competition just officially dropped and it’s something fans have been waiting a long time for. Ever since the release of the regular BMW M2 a few years back, fans have been wanting to see what it would be like if BMW really let it loose and gave it some serious go-fast tech. Now it has, as the M2 Competition is significantly more powerful than the standard car, features sharper handling and more drama. BMW also decided to tweak its design and styling a bit more than usual for a Competition upgrade. The M2 Competition has been given some subtle updates on the outside and inside, over the standard car. So let’s take a look at both and see which one looks better.

From the front, the new BMW M2 Competition gets two new visual changes, both of which are quite subtle. There’s a new lower front lip, that seems to have three vents in it for some reason. I guess it looks more aggressive and it’s kind of cool. Just seems a bit superfluous. The more noticeable change to the front is the new Kidney Grille design, which is not only larger but more angular and sharper. Both grilles also connect in the middle, which looks a bit odd. To be perfectly honest, I like the simple look of the standard M2 at the front. But if you want something with a bit more anger, the M2 Competition will work perfect.

The Competition version also gets new side mirrors, which have been borrowed from the BMW M4. They actually look good and are more interesting than the standard 2 Series mirrors that the regular car wears. It also gets new 19″ wheels with a “Y-spoke” design. They’re a bit big, so ride quality might suffer, but they look good and I like them more than the standard M2’s wheels. Inside those wheels lie new brakes, with an optional brake package that consists of 6-piston calipers up front and 4-piston calipers out back. The calipers are also painted silver, which looks good, as it’s more subtle than the normal blue.

Out back, the only real differences are the new black exhaust pipes and the black “M2” badge on the trunk. Aside from that, it’s really pretty much the same. That’s no bad thing, though, as the rear is the M2’s best angle. You can really see how muscular it is and how flared its wheel wells are from the back.

Inside, the only real differences are the new seats. Rather than the standard 2 Series seats that the normal M2 had, the BMW M2 Competition gets the seats from a BMW M4, with some blue stitching and illuminated “M2” logos in the seatbacks. While they’re just M4 seats, they do look and feel significantly better than the standard M2’s seats, which are the same ones you get in BMW 220d.

Overall, I think the new BMW M2 Competition is a bit of a mixed bag of results, visually. Some things are big improvements over the standard car while others are a bit of a miss. For instance, the new wheels, mirrors and seats are all great, welcome additions. But the new Kidney Grilles I’m not so sure about and those front lip vents just seem a bit unnecessary. Having said that, the M2 Competition certainly has more visual drama than the standard car and we can’t wait to get our hands on it. If you like the M2 but wish it was 20-30 percent more exciting, this M2 Competition is probably for you.