As BMW expands its range to include wild cars like the XM and the bucktoothed M3 and M4 it’s easy to forget the smallish two-door M2. Among old-school enthusiasts, it’s one of the most lauded in the BMW lineup and this heavily-tuned 710 hp example proves that BMW still knows exactly how to build a fun, nimble, bulletproof sports car.
Lewis, the owner, has spent around $110,000 (£80,000) to build it into the monster that it is, and that includes an intake, bigger turbochargers, and an exhaust system. Of course, Lewis doesn’t stop there. He added methanol injection, fat 285-section width tires, and an ECU tuning to ensure everything plays together nicely.
In fact, the ECU features four different tuning modes so that Lewis can swap between different power levels to optimize for conditions. In addition, the transmission has a tune of its own to add pressure to the clutch packs and make shifts even faster. All of that tuning and tech means that this M2 Competition can put the power down even when it’s wet out and that’s exactly what we see in the video below.
Related:850 HP BMW M2 Competition Goes Ballistic On The Autobahn
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Despite a slippery surface, the 710 hp (522kw) rear-wheel drive M2 rips from 0-60 in just 4.6 seconds. Before you ask, no, the suspension isn’t aftermarket aside from some lowering springs. And that makes it even more surprising to see both of these guys handling this much power around corners, as we do in the video from Officially Gassed, with ease.
Nearly doubling the horsepower in almost any other stock vehicle would almost certainly be a recipe for problems but that’s not the case here. BMW sells this car with 405 hp (297kw) and it says a great deal about the platform that with this much power, it still handles corners as though it were built for it.
It immediately reminds us of older BMWs like the E30 and E46 M3 which were also overbuilt and incredibly capable. Sure, the new M5 and M8 and even the XM are interesting and forward-thinking in their own unique ways, but small punchy sports cars are still important to BMW. And it’s great to see that they still know how to overbuild them.