It’s no secret that a new generation of BMW’s rear-wheel drive 2-Series Coupe is on its way, but today, we were surprised to see a pair of early bird photos of the G42-codenamed model appearing on social media and online forums. These particular ones were discovered by a member of the 2addicts forums on a Facebook group.

Are they real?

We can’t be absolutely certain, but they look too elaborate to be a photoshop hoax, so for now and until we hear anything else, we’ll treat them as legit. One theory floating around comes from Germany’s Bimmertoday that suggested the car is a 1:1 scale clay model pictured at the BMW Group’s Research and Innovation Center FIZ in Munich.

Tell me more about the G42 Coupe

The first thing most will notice with a sigh of relief is the absence of BMW’s controversial ‘double coffin’ grille on the front end. Instead, the two-door model has a more upright and stubbier evolution of the current car’s wide double kidney grille flanked by deeply set concave headlamps. The rear has much bigger tail lamps than today’s model with a shape reminiscent of those found on the pre-facelift E90 3-Series sedan.

Photo via 2addicts

The dark chrome surround on the kidney grilles together with the ‘M’ badge on the lower air vent of the front bumper and the diffuser at the back tells us that this is likely the M Performance model, possibly retaining the M240i moniker.

Read: Everything We Know About The 2021 BMW M3

From these two angles, we’d say that overall, BMW’s designers didn’t want to stray too far away from the successful recipe of the current 2-Series Coupe, but at the same time, the details on both ends such as the bumpers are overly exaggerated compared to the more restrained F22 / F23.

What else to expect from the new 2021 BMW 2-Series

Unlike the latest and newest introductions to the growing 2-Series range such as the Gran Coupe, the G24 will retain its rear-wheel drive layout and availability of straight-six engines as shares its underpinnings with the 3- and 4-Series.

See Also: What If BMW Made This Scirocco-Style 1 Or 2 Series Shooting Brake?

Power will be sourced from an assortment of turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and 3.0-liter six-cylinder gasoline engines, with markets outside the U.S. to continue to have the option of 1.5-liter three-cylinder and 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo diesels. Sitting at the top of the range will be the afformentioned M240i with a de-tuned version of the M340i’s 3.0-liter turbo six with around 350-ish horsepower and the successor to the M2 Coupe with a newer 3.0-liter turbo six from the next M3/M4.

Photo via 2addicts

An 8-speed automatic will be offered, while it remains to be seen which models (and in which markets) will be available with a six-speed manual gearbox. Both rear-wheel and all-wheel drive xDrive models will be on offer as well, depending on the engine and market. It’s believed that the 2-Series Convertible will be killed off in this generation as the market for such cars continues to shrink. Instead, BMW will push prospective buyers towards the next 4-Series Convertible.

The new G42 BMW 2-Series is expected to arrive towards the end of this year as a 2022MY with sales to start in the U.S. shortly after.

Thanks to Gor for the tip!

The current generation BMW 2-Series Coupe (F22) in M240i xDrive form