BMW M2 CS review – why it lacks the spark of the original

When BMW applied its CS formula to the original M2 it created a performance car to match the best of any genre: brawny, expressive and unforgettable. So much so that it won evo Car of the Year in 2020. 

It might be a stretch to call the new M2 CS pretty, but it’s certainly purposeful. It’s difficult to get your head around just how much blank space there is at the front, with enormous gaps in the grilles and bumper to feed fresh air to the twin-turbocharged 3-litre straight-six and its associated radiators and coolers. At the rear, the new carbonfibre bootlid is shaped into a big ducktail escarpment and the car as a whole sits 8mm lower than the regular M2.

It looks like it’ll be an absolute riot, an M2 with the aggression dialled right up, and the badge promises much too. Past CS models have been stellar, with carefully targeted tweaks and upgrades to bring out the very best in M cars for road use, without going to extreme CSL levels. The previous F87 M2 CS is the case in point, packing huge character and sense of purpose in a compact package, coalescing into a worthy eCoty winner. That’s a tough act to follow and one the new G87 M2 CS really ought to for its £92,475 asking price.

Engine, gearbox and technical highlights

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• 3-litre S58 engine boosted to 523bhp
• Automatic is the only gearbox option
• 30kg saving means this is a 1700kg baby CS…

On paper the new car has the goods to deliver. A 3-litre straight-six boosted from 473bhp to 523bhp, for one, but the standard M2 isn’t exactly wanting for power. What it does need is a better sense of connection, particularly through the steering, and perhaps a bit more bite and aggression in its chassis. That’s exactly what the CS makeover is targeted at. It remains rear-drive (unlike the M3/4, which are four-wheel drive only in the UK) and sits 8mm lower on retuned springs and dampers, with reworked steering software, a recalibrated Active M Differential, stiffer engine mounts and optional carbon ceramic brakes among the other changes. 

The stability systems have been retuned for track use and BMW’s excellent M Traction Control system makes an appearance, with ten stages of adjustment. Weight saving is on the agenda too, with a new carbon bootlid (with the aforementioned integrated ducktail), a carbon roof and staggered forged wheels trimming the kilos, as well as carbon for the seats and centre console – the latter sans cup holders. The result? A 30kg saving, making this a 1700kg baby M car. Hmm.

Then another controversial bit – unlike its predecessor, the CS is only offered with two pedals, with no option of a manual. The standard M2’s manual ‘box wouldn’t be able to deal with the CS’s increased 479lb ft torque output (in the standard car it’s already limited to 406lb ft, to the auto’s 442), so BMW’s eight-speed M Steptronic torque converter it is. In truth this isn’t the loss it might seem to be. The M2’s manual isn't the most satisfying anyway, and with their central leg divider, the carbon bucket seats clearly weren’t designed with three pedals in mind.

Performance, ride and handling

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• Responsiveness belies its broad footprint
• Steering lacking in feel if not precision
• Optional Cup 2 tyres could unlock the M2 CS’s potential

Thumb the start button and the straight-six fires into life with a gravelly tone, and even with everything left in Comfort mode there's a feeling of effortless propulsion as soon as you get moving. The engine’s low-down flexibility zaps away any sense of inertia, and then you notice the extra snap and clarity to the steering; it may not be a physically small car but it does a good job of responding like one, and you can drive with calm hands and position it sweetly. 

BMW pulls a similar trick with the M3 and M4, which always feel keener than physics should allow, but that feeling is more vivid here, the M2 carrying fewer kilos within a shorter wheelbase. It pivots through corners with real positivity as you wind on lock, and soon your attention turns to the rear, and managing the slug of 442lb ft to the 285-section Michelins. 

With the TC left on the CS reigns itself back if you’re greedy with the throttle, but soon hits a ferocious stride as it chomps through the lower gears. The shifts are quick and clean but lack the crispness of a DCT, but with no pause needed to punch the clutch in and grab a gear manually, it makes for an unrelenting, eye-opening surge. Baby M car? This was M5 pace not too long ago.

Though it’s big on numbers the straight-six isn’t the most special sounding engine, the gruff growl never blooming into something musical, even when you rev it out. But it’s a great partner for the chassis, all that torque and power giving you freedom to work the rear axle at will when you loosen the reins of the TC. Do that and the CS is a bit of a monster. 

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It still finds impressive traction if you’re smooth, but slip is often just a toe-twitch away, particularly when loaded up through a corner with the engine primed in the lower gears. You can point the nose in and induce subtle slides that require barely any correction, neatly overdriving the rears until they regain traction again. The variable TC lets you drive in this sweet spot with minimal intervention, stringing together corner after corner with a fantastic sense of adjustability.

As you build confidence and brake deeper, lean harder on the front end and test the limits of the rear, some elements of the CS don't totally gel. At times the weight makes itself known, the rear end not feeling nailed-on precise under full power over bumps, and the steering doesn’t load up convincingly in your hands to build a clear picture of when the front Michelins are starting to scrub. 

The latter may be a symptom of the tyres. Our test car was delivered on Pilot Sport 4S’s, but BMW offers more aggressive Cup 2 or Cup 2 R rubber (or their Pirelli equivalents) from the factory. Past CS models have been optimised for stickier rubber and we wouldn’t be surprised if the M2 would shine brighter on Cup 2s, not only because of the extra grip but more positive feedback through the steering. 

It’s ironic given that we’ve struggled with the rear-drive M4 CSL on Cup 2s in the past (albeit in wintry conditions), but on warm dry roads it does feel like stickier rubber would bring the M2 to life, complimenting its newfound precision and attitude, letting you lean on it with more intent. 

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Still, even on less aggressive rubber the M2 CS is exploitable and every bit as expressive as an M car should be. It takes time to trust it but once you're in tune it's a right laugh, the extra power and precision bringing out more of the M2’s character and letting you explore its balance more of the time, on a wider range of corners. It leaves you with an appetite to drive it more and peel back the layers, because you can corner in pretty much any way you want – cutting precise lines DTM-style, or steering it on the throttle gratuitously, just for the hell of it. 

It's a really entertaining car, and it'd be better still with a greater sense of connection and feedback to truly immerse you, and close the gap of detachment that otherwise remains. Perhaps a set of Cup 2s would change that. As it stands the CS is a cracking M car, but another world beater? Our team are divided.

Driver’s note

‘I had the fortune to drive the 2021 test-winning M5 CS again recently. I don’t think this G87-gen M2 is quite in that league for poise and feedback. But I do find it an awful lot of fun.’ – James Taylor, evo deputy editor.

Interior and tech

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• Lack of cubbies is annoying
• M bucket seats sit you low and are supportive
• Wheel still too fat, paddles not substantial or special enough

Twist yourself around the carbon bolsters and you sink low into the CS, the seats fabulously supportive, the wheel reaching out to meet you. But it somehow doesn't feel very compact. It might be shorter than the M3/4, but the M2 does feel wide, planted as you are behind a giant expanse of dashboard and vertical digital screen slabs. 

And it’s a shame it still has such an obese steering wheel. If only Ferrari designed BMW steering wheels (the rim at least, not the haptic touchpads). In manual M2s, the ‘crotch catcher’ of the carbon seats actually gets in the way of your left leg when operating the clutch, but it’s not an issue here in the auto-only M2 CS

Areas where weight has been trimmed are apparent inside, with the carbonfibre seats and centre console contributing to the 30kg reduction versus the regular M2 with the auto ’box. The fact it’s still a 1700kg car however makes BMW’s habit of removing useful places to put stuff in CS models as annoying as ever: losing the armrest cubby and cupholders might save a few grams in a car that’s still far from lightweight, but invariably means keys, water bottles and other odds and ends wind up thumping around in the passenger footwells.

Nonetheless, hints that you’re in a special car are there and don’t stop at the seats – CS embroidery and badging is everywhere, on the dash, in the door cards, the latter pulsing with light when the doors are open.

evo Car of the Year 2025 – result

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‘There isn’t quite the purity of the previous eCoty-winning M2 CS,’ conceded Henry Catchpole, ‘and it obviously doesn’t have the pared-back tactility of something like the Alpine, but it is a whole lot of fun and as a road car I thought it delivered a huge amount of enjoyment.’ So much, in fact, that he had the M2 CS in third place.

I had it near the top of my scoresheet, too, for its no-nonsense character and for the deftness with which it moved across the tarmac, all four corners hunting for grip but relinquishing it when required. Its steering felt a little dead though – something Yousuf Ashraf also picked up on: ‘It’s very accurate and easy to place but it doesn’t talk much and you don’t get a sense of how you’re loading the car up.’

‘I really, really, really wanted to love this car,’ said Richard Meaden, ‘but it just felt a little bit soft-edged. It was one of the biggest disappointments for me.’ He placed it 10th. As did John Barker, who felt it was ‘a performance car by numbers’. Ouch.

In contrast, James Taylor was really impressed. ‘If you’re pushing hard it has fantastic ability in high- and medium-speed corners. The rear follows the front more faithfully than in the regular M2.’ Although he did admit a suspicion that the original M2 CS would have been more fun and involving. One third place, plus a fourth and a fifth helped the M2 CS finish fifth overall and at the top of our tight midfield pack, a mere half a point ahead of the Morgan Supersport.

Price and rivals

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The M2 CS is priced at a very punchy £92,475, or just over £23k more than a base M2. That puts it within range of some pretty serious sports cars, not least BMW’s own M4 Competition from the class above (£91,740). Lotus’s flagship Emira V6 SE is within touching distance at £96,500, although Porsche’s cheapest 911 Carrera is a chunk more expensive at £103,700, so too Alpine’s (brilliant) £106k A110 R. 

For an enormous £23k less than the CS there’s the A110 GTS to consider, plus Porsche’s 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 – if you can get your hands on one from dealer stock, now that production has ended. Less powerful than the M2 CS but more specialised and nuanced in how they tackle a road, we’d be very tempted by one of these mid-engined alternatives, particularly as neither will be around for much longer.