Yesterday

Kitted BMW M2 snatches 'ring lap record from CS

Figured the vastly expensive M Performance Track Kit was just for show? Think again...

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While perhaps less significant than when it hot hatches duking it out for quickest possible time on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, there is still something to be said for being top of the so-called ‘Compact cars’ category when it comes to Green Hell lap records. In point of fact, of course, BMW already topped the leaderboard thanks to the 7:25.534 that the M2 CS recorded last year, thereby knocking the current Audi RS3 (with a 7:33.123) into second place. 

Make that third now. Seems BMW couldn’t resist another crack at the record in an M2 cloaked in its new M Performance Track Kit. That name might not slip off the tongue like ‘CS’, though of course the idea that it’s 0.5 seconds quicker than the flagship model is significant - because it means BMW has done its job with add-on components that were wholly focused on ‘further [sharpening] precision, stability and performance on the racetrack’. 

We’ve talked about the model in some detail when it was launched back in March (return there for the full technical lowdown), though suffice it to say, you get coilovers with four-way adjustable dampers, alongside an adjustable front splitter, assorted aero flicks and, in case you hadn’t noticed, a manually configurable swan-neck rear wing. Needless to say, many of the gains come from time spent in the wind tunnel eking out aerodynamic performance, all of it the ultimate responsibility of Jörg Weidinger, both the record-setting driver and BMW M test engineer for chassis development. 

On the basis of its performance - apparently conducted back in May ‘under demanding conditions’ - you’d have to say its job jobbed, even if the 7:25.068 advantage over the CS is a slender one. Whether or not the margin is compelling enough to convince anyone to invest in the 23,500 euros (more if you want ‘ultra track tyres’) required to turn your M2 into an official M Performance Track Kit wearer is an open question. But you wouldn’t bet against seeing one or two in the PH classifieds before the year is out…

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• BMW unveils new M Performance Track Kit for M2
• BMW M2 CS bests RS3 with new 'ring lap record

[wistec1]

So is it 0.5 or 7:25.068 secs quicker? Confused. I doubt it matters if I'm reading this wrong because it's a lot of additional cost over the CS without having the significant talent to execute the difference in lap times at any track venue, It will probably win some bragging rights though.

[GreatScott2016]

wistec1 said:

So is it 0.5 or 7:25.068 secs quicker? Confused. I doubt it matters if I'm reading this wrong because it's a lot of additional cost over the CS without having the significant talent to execute the difference in lap times at any track venue, It will probably win some bragging rights though.

Agreed, in the real world driven by your average Joe, it will make no difference whatsoever

[steveb8188]

Love to see some bug splats on the front of a car to show it's been driven well in a nice place! Don't seem to get them in the UK as you used to.

[sixor8]

That'll be the 63% drop in winged insects in the UK since 2021, apparently:

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default...

"When I were a lad," say the late 1980s, a drive in the country in summer would have your car plastered in splats, but not any more.

[steveb8188]

sixor8 said:

That'll be the 63% drop in winged insects in the UK since 2021, apparently:

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default...

"When I were a lad," say the late 1980s, a drive in the country in summer would have your car plastered in splats, but not any more.

It's pretty worrying. I learnt in 1999 living in Yorkshire. On the moors a brisk drive would cover a front numberplate.