Representatives of BMW М GmbH have already said a few times that the performance subdivision of BMW was not interested in producing compact cars with front-wheel drives and transverse engine mounting. Today, CEO Markus Flasch confirmed this on official terms and simultaneously issued an intriguing statement about the next M2 to come.
He said that the car would be getting the ‘classical’ layout, which likely means that the entire new 2 Series would also be RWD.
BMW’s first FWD cars ever were the 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer, followed later by the X1 and X2, then by the new 1 Series, and ultimately by the 2 Series Gran Coupe sedan. Of these, the M135i, M235i, the X2 M35i and the Gran Coupe are the most powerful. All four come powered by the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder turbo engine (B48) rated at 306 hp (228 kW) in conjunction with eight-speed auto transmission and xDrive AWD. However, the rest of M vehicles will continue to stick to their traditional RWD design.
By the way, the BMW M2 Competition depicted on the photos here is the most affordable car in the entire M lineup. It comes powered by a three-liter turbocharged six-cylinder engine rated at 410 hp (306 kW). It will be getting a stronger version called the M2 CS soon, which you can see on the video.