[Bosozoku]

Originally Posted by smakdown61

That would put the starting price of the US M2 right at 50k.

I wonder if they would drop the M235 to the 235i by putting the 300hp N55 and taking all the M Perf. parts off as standard. Start it under $40k.

Sounds about right. Is there really room for two "sporty" 2-Series models? Do 2-Series sales justify both an "M Performance" M235i (or M240i or whatever) and a "real M" M2? I'm not sure that makes sense, considering that the 3/4-Series line is vastly more popular even without M335i / M435i models. At least not here in the US.

BMW's other series avoid confusion by having a base big-engine model and a high-performance M variant (e.g. 435i and M4.) That gives customers a clear distinction between the M variant and the rest of the models in the series. Not sure there's a big enough niche between the (theoretical) '17 M240i and (near-certain) '17 M2.

To make that M-Performance-to-Real-M niche even smaller, the M2 can't be as fast as the M3/M4. BMW probably won't want M2 sales to cannibalize sales of their more expensive and presumably higher-margin M3/M4 sales. Sporty drivers who want more speed will need to go higher up in the M pecking order.

Also, the M2 will need to be much less expensive than the M3/M4. Slower + smaller = cheaper in consumers' eyes. And that means even less room for an intermediate M240i. Maybe, if BMW were to remove a few go-fast bits from the '17 M240i and call it a 240i and lower the price a few grand, they might boost 2-Series sales overall. The M2 would fill the gap between the non-M-Performance 240i and the M3/M4.