The BMW M2 is now available with the option of four-wheel drive for the first time, meaning every M car can now be had with two driven axles.
The M2 xDrive has been revealed ahead of it going on sale in late summer, priced from £74,255 – around £4000 more than the standard rear-driven M2.
That’s also around £12,000 more than its closest comparable rival, the five-cylinder, 4WD Audi RS3 hot hatch; the M2 is now the only mainstream two-door sports coupé on the market, having outlived the Porsche 718 Cayman, Toyota GR Supra, Alpine A110, Jaguar F-Type and Audi TT RS.
It’s powered by the same 3.0-litre turbocharged ‘S58’ straight six as the existing M2 but gains a new pre-chamber combustion process, dubbed M Ignite, which will be rolled out to all M cars from mid-2026 to make them compliant with the new Euro 7 emissions rules.
BMW said this new technology, developed in racing, “significantly reduces fuel consumption under high loads” while maintaining the performance characteristics of the S58: “instantaneous response and linear power development into the higher reaches of the rev range”.
It also still offers an “emotionally stirring soundtrack”, according to BMW.
As with the xDrive versions of its bigger M3 and M4 brothers, the all-paw M2 trims the 0-62mph sprint time slightly, from 4.0sec to 3.7sec, and comes equipped with the Active M differential which varies power across the rear axle to improve grip and poise.
BMW said this means it “offers drivers the inimitable M feeling through all four seasons of the year, in almost any road conditions and in all weathers, without any trade-off in performance”.
In normal driving, the M2 xDrive still drives its rear wheels exclusively, with the fronts called upon when they can’t send any more power to the road.
It can also be locked in two-wheel-drive mode, with the DSC deactivated – which “unlocks a driving experience of remarkable purity”.
Whereas the rear-driven M2 can be optioned with a manual gearbox, the M2 xDrive is automatic-only.
