BMW M2 M Performance track kit beats the CS at the Nürburgring
BMW’s track kit for the M2 has increased its capability to the extent it’s now quicker than the CS around the Nürburgring
The BMW M2 with M Performance track kit has set a Nürburgring time of 7:25.068, with BMW M test engineer Jörg Weidinger at the wheel. That time is 0.5sec quicker than the flagship BMW M2 CS, with the track kit car having less power but increased downforce.
The track kit gives the M2 a significantly revised, manually adjustable splitter with canards, plus provision on the front bumper for extra canards either side. There’s also a scoop under the upstream engine oil cooler. There’s no CS flipped-up boot lid, with a standard M2 boot lid instead, albeit now with a large swan-neck rear wing attached. This is easily the biggest aero appendage BMW has offered on a road car this century, making the lineage of M3 and M4 GTS models look just a little tame.
The wing is adjustable, with what BMW calls a ‘race mode’, which positions the wing element 50 millimetres further back, though this position would make the car non-compliant with German road regulations, so there’s ‘street mode’ for legality. You can also change the wing element’s angle of attack with two different settings, depending on what downforce you want.
You’ll know it’s a legitimate item when you see one too, given the integrated brake light. What has not been specified is whether the car was in its non road-legal trackday set-up. However, a closer look at an image of the car that did the run, shows the wing in its most aggressive position.
Under the skin the M2 track kit also features coilover suspension with motorsport dampers (a first for road homologation), featuring four-way adjustable rebound and compression. There are also adjustable support bearings, ride height adjustment (able to be lowered by 20mm) and motorsport dampers. You can also optionally fit ‘ultra-track’ tyres, which are a separate cost to the track pack.
Specifics weren’t given on the tyres, though zooming in on the pair of cars sat stationary, we do see a Pirelli logo on the sidewall. BMW has not specified what tyres were used for the Nürburgring time either, however images of the car that completed the run do show ‘Trofeo’ script on the front tyres, suggesting the ‘ultra-track’ option was used.
The M Performance exhaust enhances the sound but does not increase performance compared to the M2’s already potent 473bhp and 442lb ft power and torque output. BMW claims the M2 will get from 0-62mph in 4sec and top out at 160mph.
Keeping in mind how we felt about the new M2 CS when we had it on evo Car of the Year 2025, this track kit could be the transformation of the M2 we were looking for, to deliver the extra focus the CS seems to lack. Whether such an enhancement could be worth the £20,000 (plus taxes) the kit costs, on top of the base car? That’s down to the individual.
