First Look: BMW M2 revealed to the media

J.A. Ackley said:

IMO when the mfg paints something near the bottom black they want you to forget it's there. Like how the Challenger "loses" like 8" of body height largess by the matte black strip along the bottom. 
 

In that vein, consider the front end with the black bottom jaw missing. The top of the front then is an interesting design almost like a 507 or its heir the Z8.

But then there are the boxy blue jowls...

On balance, the departure from ever larger kidney maw is encouraging. 

Trent said:

I can't be the only person who saw the front end pic and thought 2005 Dodge Charger, can I?

I was thinking Caliber,  but yes.

Nice Veloster N color.

buzzboy said:

In reply to crankwalk (Forum Supporter) :

Put the E46 next to the M2 and dang does it make the M2 look better.

(unabashed E46 hater runs and hides)

Solid proof that it's all subjective anyhow. I still think the E36 is roughly tied for worst looking 3 Series with the current gen, though they get there quite differently.

Appleseed said:

Trent said:

I can't be the only person who saw the front end pic and thought 2005 Dodge Charger, can I?

I was thinking Caliber,  but yes.

I was thinking magnum.

J.A. Ackley said:

I know I'm just piling on at this point, but given my historical fondness for BMWs I'm feeling a little betrayed by recent changes and I'm just rolling with it.

Anyhow, it looks like it's wearing a cheap body kit that was supposed to be fitted with detail in the form of trim, but instead they just molded the approximate shape of the trim into the fiberglass. I don't hate the color itself, but I don't think it's doing anything to mitigate the lack of crispness in detail.

LanEvo said:

Looks like BMW is never going to give me a reason to sell mine

 

Whore

I own four blue cars including two BMWs and that shade isn't doing it for me.

The front end needs work too.

The last time that I sat in seats like those, I had to pull down on the restraining bar before they'd let the coaster train leave the station. 

I've got one on order.  2nd in line at Fields BMW in Orlando.   Mine will be the Zandvoort blue shown here, carbon roof, black wheels with red calipers, with the led headlights and shadowline package.   I've added in the heads up display and interior carbon accents as well as including a 3rd pedal in the footwell.   No carbon bucket seats tho that mess is expensive and too constricting for a street driven car.

I think the styling is more muscle than elegance and while I prefer the previous gen a bit or the 1m by far this has a particular meanness about it that I find appealing.   I've also seen enough video of the thing to think that many of the details that seems off-putting in still photos aren't as egregious in person and the stance is particularly menacing with how wide and low it looks.

Olemiss540 said:

Whore

Hate the game, not the player. 

Maniac0301 said:

I've got one on order.  2nd in line at Fields BMW in Orlando.   Mine will be the Zandvoort blue shown here, carbon roof, black wheels with red calipers, with the led headlights and shadowline package.   I've added in the heads up display and interior carbon accents as well as including a 3rd pedal in the footwell.   No carbon bucket seats tho that mess is expensive and too constricting for a street driven car.

I think the styling is more muscle than elegance and while I prefer the previous gen a bit or the 1m by far this has a particular meanness about it that I find appealing.   I've also seen enough video of the thing to think that many of the details that seems off-putting in still photos aren't as egregious in person and the stance is particularly menacing with how wide and low it looks.

It's interesting that you say "more muscle than elegance." We didn't get a chance to drive the M2, but the M3 and M4 CSL gave me a muscle car vibe from inside. A bit loud. Powerful. On paper they scale heavy, but they feel incredibly light on their feet while driving them.

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

I agree it seems like these latest batch of M cars are trying to separate themselves from the styling of the fast Audis and Mercs.   More brutish and less Euro chic.   I assume the driving dynamics will be great although I really don't have much experience at this kind of level so I'm likely to be floored even if they weren't fully up to par.  My current daily is my F-Pace which I use as a tow vehicle for my MR2 so I expect a pretty nice bump in capability and engagement.   

In reply to Maniac0301 :

Congrats. See you and the car at Ace one day, maybe? 

I read an article recently that said something along the lines of "Around 2013, Germans decided they no longer wanted to make good cars."

I guess maybe I'm getting old as well. I'll take an E46 M3 any day of the week over this car. My all wheel drive E90 sedan with lots of options and sport seats that weigh 70 pounds each still weighs less than this car. The numbers (minus the weight) the car puts out are impressive, but jesus, 3800 pounds for an M2 manual? I really detest how heavy everything is getting.

Cars may be generally getting heavier, but not everything is getting new BMW heavy...on the other end of the spectrum, Mazda's newest Answer is also the lightest.

docwyte said:

That's just not a good looking car.  I mean, the M3/4 nose is hideous, so in comparison this is somewhat better but it's still not esthetically pleasing to behold.

Until you look at all the other new styling on bmw cars 

It's a driver's car designed for you by people that hate cars.