If you were at the recently-concluded
Philippine International Motor Show, on display at
BMW Philippines's pavilion was a
pair of BMW M models--the M2 and the M5. Both cars are no slouch in their respective segments, but just in case you're thinking the German marque can do better than the M2, then you're in luck because the carmaker will soon bring in the
BMW M2 Competition.
That's right; according to no less than
SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp.President
Spencer Yu, the hardcore version of the M2 will arrive in 2019. SMC Asia Car Distributors is the new, well, distributor of BMW in the Philippines, taking over from the now-defunct Asian Carmakers Corp. early this year.
"We're bringing in the M2 Competition next year," Yu told CARMUDI PHILIPPINES.
The M2 Competition is more than just an M2 with better bits because besides the usual upgrades like the more aggressive aero kit, carbon-fiber trim, bigger wheels, and fancy badging all around, it abandons the 3.0-liter straight-six N55 engine with a twin-scroll turbo for its
high-performance counterpart in the
3.0-liter straight-six S55 twin-turbo used by the M4 but detuned to produce
405 hp and 550 Nm of torque--a
difference of 40 hp and 85 Nm over the standard M2. Putting the power down to the rear wheels is either a
six-speed manual gearbox or a
seven-speed M dual-clutch transmission, with a zero to 100 kph sprint achieved in
4.2 seconds before the car tops out at an
electronically-limited speed of 241 kph--though if you probably begged your dealer hard enough and slapped on even higher-performance tires on it, the top-speed limiter can be increased to
278 kph. And if you're the type who values a car's
lap time around the
Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit, you'll be pleased to know it did it in
seven minutes and 54 seconds.
If you're planning to get one, you'll have to be content knowing that you'll be--at best--the second-ever owner of an M2 Competition locally because one man has beaten everyone else to the draw and that's Motul Philippines's Carlos Gono who took delivery of the car less than a month ago.
