BMW M model buyers aren’t cross-shopping between M cars from the brand’s performance arm, according to its global boss – meaning its model range isn’t cannibalising itself by being too close in terms of capability.
The latest model is the M2 CS – the third ‘Competition Sport’ model in local showrooms, and sitting above the standard M2 – which is priced at $172,900 before on-road costs, making it more than a regular BMW M3.
The M2 CS brings a 30kg weight saving over the standard M2 and is offered as rear-wheel drive only, with the same (limited) 302km/h top speed as all other CS models.
The smallest and most affordable M car also has a 0-100km/h claim of 3.8 seconds – while the M3 CS Touring takes 3.5 seconds, with the M4 CS a tenth of a second quicker at 3.4 seconds.
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Yet the M2 CS is less than a single kilowatt down on the flagship M4 CS’s 230.11kW/tonne power-to-weight ratio (based on Euro specs), at 229.4kW/tonne.
It’s also only 3.6 seconds slower around the 20.832-kilometre Nürburgring Nordschleife racetrack in Germany, its 7:25.53 lap well in the mirrors of the M4 CS’s 7:21.989 time.
This all comes for $82,000 less than the M4 CS’s $254,900 before on-road costs price.
But buyers aren’t shopping between CS models on price, says M Division boss Frank van Meel, when asked if the similar on-paper performance between the trio sold here was an issue for customers.
“No, it’s the same with the regular M cars,” Mr van Meel explained.
“People sometimes tell me ‘I don’t want an M2, I want an M3 because I need four doors and I want to get the kids in the rear seats’. So it’s just – first, you make the choice, what car you like, and then you go to the extreme.”
“It’s not that you look at all three [CS] cars – M2 CS, M3 and M4 CS – and then you try to compare and say which one is the best, because each of those cars has its own specific positioning in design and performance.”
“I think that’s why ChatGPT won’t give you the answer you desire if you ask it to pick out the best,” Mr van Meel added.
The M boss said the price was not a significant factor in CS customer choices, with the rarity and added performance a drawcard, but again, buyers are drawn to a specific model.
“I think there is not a typical customer worldwide, but the M2 customer clearly wants to have this model. Sometimes we do have customers who’ve said ‘I didn’t get an M3 CS because there were a limited number’, so they tried to get the next special model,” he said.
“Because one of the main reasons for buying a CS is always – it’s a special model, and people want to have the CS, and then you have within this, desire for a special model let’s, for a little bit bigger car like an M3 or M4 or the smaller one, like the M2.
“Of course, we do have a different character – if you look at the cars from the outside – the M2 is the more nimble car, it looks smaller with the ducktail. The M3 has a more mean impression – if you look at the front-end, it’s clearly the racing car front-end, like on the M4 GT3.”
“It’s more personal taste, I’d say. It’s not – there is a segment of customers limited by budget – maybe it’s also a thing I don’t know – but it’s mostly personal taste and what kind of car you want to be identified with.”
MORE: Everything BMW M2 • M3 • M4