FIRST DRIVE: BMW M2 – 454bhp RWD Manual Coupe + Cayman GT4 & BMW 1M Comparison | Top Gear

Aug 3, 2023

FIRST DRIVE: BMW M2 – 454bhp RWD Manual Coupe + Cayman GT4 & BMW 1M Comparison | Top Gear

The BMW M2 is the smallest, least expensive M car. Only, this new one isn’t really that small (44mm wider than the old one at the front, and 18mm wider at the rear) and it’s certainly not inexpensive at a whisker under £70k. It is, however, the only remaining mainstream manual M car in the UK – and the 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six’s power goes to the rear wheels only. So is BMW’s 454bhp, rear-drive, manual-optioned M4-lite a recipe for success? Well, we brought along the best-in-class – and an old-time favourite – for a stick-shift showdown.

00:00 - Intro
02:36 - BMW M2
09:50 - Porsche Cayman GT4
14:44 - BMW 1M
19:58 - Conclusion

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Content

0.11 -> [Music]

1.439 -> foreign

3.9 -> [Music]

14.43 -> [Music]

19.22 -> this unfortunately may be the last BMW M

23.22 -> car to have one of these levers in it

26.16 -> it's a sad day the end is nigh but let's

30.359 -> not be too down in the dumps because at

32.399 -> least they've chosen to put it in

33.84 -> something exciting

35.88 -> a short wheelbase M4

39.59 -> [Music]

46.86 -> otherwise known as the new M2 I will

50.219 -> tell you more about the nose and what

51.66 -> lies behind it later but first Rivals

54.48 -> this car does have some obviously the

55.98 -> Audi RS3 The Merc A45 but the M2 has

59.579 -> always blown them into the weeds for

61.14 -> driver engagement and if this is the

63.66 -> last ever purely petrol M car you'd

66.84 -> imagine BMW would have upped the ante

68.939 -> somewhat

70.02 -> so have I frozen berry lasting on a

73.439 -> bathroom cabinet in the 1970s try not to

77.22 -> let it distract you from the Cayman GT4

79.38 -> underneath and yes you could argue that

82.5 -> the GTS 4 liter is a more direct rival

85.14 -> but if we want to investigate just how

87.84 -> serious BMW is with the new M2 this will

91.799 -> really test its metal

94.579 -> and yes it's a manual the GT4 has been

98.4 -> around since 2015 but it's only in the

101.4 -> last couple of years that Porsche has

103.14 -> capitulated and fitted a pdk that's

106.5 -> dedication to the manual right there but

109.38 -> BMW has also done masses to keep the

112.079 -> manual alive think back to its most

114.06 -> famous Skunk Works project which took

116.34 -> the back axle from an e92 M3 and the

119.28 -> engine from a Z4 to create this the 1M

123.84 -> coupe with a six-speed manual gearbox it

127.38 -> is the m2s origin story is there still a

130.8 -> tangible section

135.9 -> here's what we're going to do we're

138 -> going to drive them until the road runs

139.92 -> out we're gonna find some very twisty

141.9 -> ones and we're going to count the gear

143.64 -> changes and the one that's made the most

145.86 -> wins or something like that will keep it

148.8 -> real this is not going to be some fast

150.959 -> and furious shift Fest right let's start

154.319 -> in the M2

158.76 -> off we go then one

163.98 -> two

165.319 -> I'm not going to carry on doing that

167.28 -> actually I'm going to be counting all

168.42 -> the time not telling you about the car

169.8 -> but now in the UK this is the only way

173.16 -> to get a manual M car because we do not

176.16 -> take the manual M3 the 480 horsepower

179.58 -> manual M3 that they do sell in other

182.04 -> parts of the world

183.54 -> so this is it this is your choice if you

185.76 -> want a manual M car still

188.58 -> it's the M2

190.06 -> [Music]

197.36 -> do you think I'm being unfair to the M2

200.42 -> comparing it to those Rivals if you do I

204.48 -> think that like me you're worried BMW's

206.94 -> been missing the mark a bit recently you

209.4 -> look at the XM and to a lesser extent

211.8 -> the M4 CSL and just worried that BMW is

215.04 -> not quite on its game

217.019 -> but then you look at the M3 touring and

219 -> think well actually I don't think there

220.86 -> is a finer faster state car out there at

223.739 -> the moment and don't forget the M2 is a

227.22 -> lot of M3 underneath

228.69 -> [Music]

231.239 -> foreign

235.94 -> look at these plunges and sweepers

240.18 -> and it's so nice to be guaranteed that

242.819 -> you're holding on to the Gear you want

247.26 -> I think I need to play with my modes

249.18 -> let's go for a bit of M2 which I've got

252.42 -> set up so it just ramps everything up to

255.42 -> maximum

256.16 -> [Music]

259.859 -> yeah it's not a slow car that's for sure

265.08 -> the 1M will see if it's veered From the

267.12 -> Path and the Cayman will see if it's

269.34 -> good enough to beat the best

272.97 -> [Music]

274.68 -> engine sounds good

276.3 -> gearbox is good it's a bit

279.72 -> you can tell it's going to free up a bit

281.46 -> more we bouncy bouncy

287.22 -> but it's quick that shift through there

289.08 -> and it's very precise

291.54 -> straight six rear drive manual gearbox

294.3 -> what we've got here is an M car that can

296.82 -> draw a clear line straight back to the

300 -> E36 M3

302.1 -> in fact I think this gear lever

304.94 -> literally dates back that far which

307.979 -> means it's now about 30 years old

310.38 -> why do you need to change it it's

312 -> perfect

314.94 -> what this car does do is cover ground

316.94 -> really well really fast but it feels a

320.58 -> big car on the road it's actually

322.94 -> substantially wider than the old M2

325.62 -> because it's based on the 4 Series it's

327.72 -> the same width as an M4 it uses near

330.12 -> identical suspension it's 200 mil

332.639 -> shorter overall than an M4 and 100 Mil

335.039 -> of that has been taken out of the

336.419 -> wheelbase so it's a substantially

338.82 -> changed car the front end feels stiffer

341.759 -> the back end's a bit softer than M4 so

344.82 -> it's got this really interesting

346.139 -> character where the front is really

347.82 -> eager and dives into corners and the

350.82 -> back just feels a bit softer and you can

353.1 -> tell it feels a bit more mobile like it

354.66 -> wants to sort of move over and get gone

358.68 -> it's a love on these tight little

360.479 -> Corners it is a proper laugh

362.699 -> but nearly everything is third gear

365.82 -> that's all you need it's got so much

368.28 -> torque you know four or five thousand

370.68 -> yeah he's just got everything you need

372.66 -> and more

376.259 -> foreign

378.66 -> but it sounds good and it's not turbo

381.06 -> whistle you're getting it's proper

382.56 -> engine noise

384.12 -> so I'm much more impressed with the M2

385.8 -> than I was worried I might be it feels a

388.979 -> short Broad

390.84 -> not exactly taught but certainly very

394.259 -> dynamically competent and engaging and

396.66 -> playful car the front end just scoots

400.199 -> around and the back's just starting to

401.94 -> sort of get a bit engaged it's trying to

404.34 -> sort of move around a bit it's just a

406.8 -> more fun way of getting down the road

408.479 -> and in that way I think it does that

410.46 -> better than an M3

412.5 -> okay enough gear changes for now I need

415.259 -> to be a brave boy step outside and show

417.84 -> you around the front of this thing

420.02 -> [Music]

425.16 -> right let's have a poke around

427.74 -> which means we've got to come and have a

429.36 -> look at the front doesn't it because

430.919 -> this is yet another challenging BMW it

435 -> just looks a bit clumsy it's like the

437.22 -> front end is made of clay or that

439.5 -> they've left the cover molds on it's

442.38 -> just a bit weird and it's the same with

444.18 -> the cladding down the sides and around

446.039 -> the back but I want to stop down here

448.08 -> and talk about the wheels a bit we've

450.3 -> got 19s on the front and 20s on the back

452.639 -> but it's more the fact that these are

454.639 -> 275 width front tires that's huge it's

458.22 -> Supercar Dimensions behind them we've

460.86 -> got 380 millimeter brakes plenty of

463.86 -> stopping power but we did not need a

466.979 -> choice of comfort or sport brakes BMW do

470.58 -> it once do it right you can't have

473.52 -> carbon Ceramics on this they will

475.319 -> inevitably come with the m2cs in a

478.56 -> couple of years right need to have a

480.78 -> quick look inside as well

484.5 -> so I need to show you what's going on in

487.199 -> here because this would probably be my

490.38 -> driving position but the clutch is very

492.479 -> long travel so in order to get it down

494.099 -> comfortably I need to slide forward

496.259 -> which meets everything feel a bit

498.18 -> dominant and makes it slightly awkward

500.099 -> to do the gear change here but the main

503.699 -> issue is do not have these carbon seats

507.3 -> in combination with the manual gearbox

508.979 -> because if you do every time you push

511.68 -> the clutch down the carbon plinth here

514.14 -> digs into your leg

518.159 -> size does have its obvious benefits

520.74 -> there's now more space in the back and a

523.38 -> 390 liter boot Outback but it's hard to

527.04 -> get comfy in here Everything feels very

529.56 -> big and close the steering wheel is huge

532.26 -> the screens dominate the carbon seats

535.32 -> come as part of the M race track package

537.6 -> which also brings track tires and a

540.18 -> speed limiter raised to 177 miles an

543.18 -> hour it had to be based on the 4 Series

545.64 -> because the one series is now on a front

548.04 -> drive mini platform and that means it's

550.98 -> a big car and a heavy one at over 1700

554.82 -> kilos the last M2 was the most

557.519 -> successful M car ever with over 60 000

560.7 -> sold however only 10 percent of those

563.16 -> were manual that came free and if you

565.62 -> wanted the twin clutch gearbox that was

567.48 -> optional now the twin clutch is dead the

570.18 -> automatic is standard and if you want

572.22 -> the manual it's a 545 pound option which

575.7 -> admittedly isn't much in the grand

577.56 -> scheme of a 65 000 quid car however time

582.06 -> to drive something that throws the

583.32 -> manual in for free

586.08 -> foreign

591.3 -> [Music]

594.38 -> that this is the car I'll be making the

597.12 -> most gear changes in because it's

598.98 -> naturally aspirated and you're gonna

600.66 -> need to work with the engine because it

602.16 -> hasn't got the torque and all the rest

603.54 -> of it and that is 100 true but for one

608.279 -> thing

609.12 -> Porsche saddle the Cayman GT4 with

611.58 -> stupidly long gearing it's just it's the

615.48 -> one thing about this car that sort of

617.88 -> undermines its potential for a sort of

619.92 -> sprinting if you like him but just

622.08 -> really hitting hard out of Corners

623.64 -> anyway what I want to do is I'm going to

625.5 -> slow right down okay no looking down

627.839 -> here right

630.36 -> so here we go

632.82 -> off we go through the red brain lovely

634.62 -> noises coming up lots of revs all the

637.2 -> way to 8 000 it's gonna go

640.08 -> look at that and you can feel that was a

642.72 -> bit draggy getting through there and

644.04 -> you'll think it will it's third gear

645.839 -> that's fine but the trouble is that

647.94 -> wasn't third gear that was second gear

650.519 -> third gear runs to about 115 miles an

654.72 -> hour it's just the gearing on it is a

658.5 -> little bit too long

660.24 -> well not a little bit what am I saying

662.1 -> it's a lot too long

665.52 -> [Music]

668.279 -> but the car's got enough torque

670.92 -> that actually you can just throw it

673.019 -> along and oh my God the Rev blipping on

675.24 -> it and all that sort of thing yeah I

677.1 -> haven't got it turned on and I'm just

678.48 -> doing it myself but it makes it easy to

681.3 -> do it yourself

683.339 -> and that's what you want isn't it

687.36 -> hard dampers at the moment nothing wrong

689.76 -> with that it's just it's Immaculate that

692.279 -> whole Precision of this car it's not the

695.82 -> BMW the new M2 certainly it's trying to

699 -> ape the feel of the old M2 while it's

701.16 -> still using four series underpinnings

702.899 -> which is a little bit of a challenge for

705.06 -> it and also in order to do that it means

707.88 -> that it's all over brightened and over

709.32 -> sharpened in some ways it comes across

710.94 -> as like a bit of a caricature somehow

713.7 -> whereas this isn't trying to be anything

716.519 -> it's not it's just a wonderful sports

719.82 -> car doing wonderful things on a

721.86 -> wonderful Road

723.24 -> oh it's just so enjoyable to drive

725.399 -> you're locked in the seats are fantastic

728.22 -> the driving position is wonderful it's

731.04 -> an easy car to get on with because of

733.019 -> the controls and switch gear are

735.18 -> understandable ah proper bit of kit

738.96 -> [Music]

742.7 -> and yeah the engine is amazing when you

745.98 -> get right up it

747.959 -> you don't need to be up it all the time

749.94 -> because actually through that mid-range

752.519 -> it's the crispness of it the response to

755.22 -> your foot

756.24 -> that actually is what gives you ever

757.86 -> gives you the satisfaction from it

760.12 -> [Music]

767.459 -> oh just it's such a short flicky shift

770.88 -> as well

772.92 -> what am I saying I think this probably

774.3 -> will do I think this probably will do

776.76 -> the most fit

778.86 -> just gonna be rowing it around for the

780.72 -> sake of it because it's so good

784.26 -> um right Auto flip is it any better

789.839 -> High revs are pretty good isn't it

792.06 -> just be so quick with it turn it off

794.1 -> again I actually prefer doing it myself

800.22 -> oh

802.139 -> it's such a richly rewarding car there's

805.62 -> just so much tactility to it love the

808.74 -> sort of Alcantara steering wheel here as

810.959 -> well

814.519 -> and the positioning of everything just

816.72 -> where you where you're rowing the gear

818.639 -> lever around in relation to where you

820.32 -> sit and how close it is to the steering

822.839 -> wheel

824.04 -> but of course this is a much more

825.959 -> expensive thing than the M2 the M2

828.24 -> starts at 65 Grand this starts at 82.

832.44 -> so the argument is would a GTS 4 liter

835.74 -> which is about 75 grand

838.2 -> still have done the job that this does

840.36 -> and I think the answer is yes it would

842.579 -> actually so the BMW feels a burlier bit

846.72 -> more bombastic and a little bit more

849.38 -> artificial to drive than this does it

851.88 -> and that doesn't surprise me in the

853.26 -> least that's about where I thought it

855.24 -> would be and I could see why the M2

858.3 -> might be a car for you over this because

860.04 -> let's face it it's got four seats in a

862.56 -> big boot you could use it as your daily

864.959 -> and it would be very comfortable and

867.779 -> capable

871.44 -> right

872.94 -> let's go and have a go in a 1M

878.58 -> [Music]

885 -> off we go in the 1M then and I'll let

887.04 -> you in on a little secret this is one of

889.74 -> my all-time favorite cars I just loved

893.699 -> how sort of boisterous and bombastic it

897.18 -> was even without only 330 horsepower

904.92 -> well so how's it

906.48 -> too 12 years of Aging pretty well I have

911.22 -> to say really really well it's just so

915.12 -> exciting around corners because it's not

919.079 -> particularly locked down

921.06 -> it feels quite flighty and edgy and the

923.88 -> steering is very sharp

926.82 -> the way you sit in the car feels very

929.519 -> different these seats for starters have

931.8 -> nothing like the lateral support and

934.26 -> grip of the other two cars you also sit

937.079 -> higher you feel a bit more on top of the

939.899 -> car you've got to reach down further to

942.66 -> do the gear change but I hope in time in

946.38 -> time I hope the m2's gear change frees

949.44 -> up as much as this one has because this

952.139 -> is just so fast and fluid you can be so

956.1 -> quick with it

957.5 -> 335 horsepower I know it's now 120

961.56 -> horsepower behind an M2

965.16 -> but this is a smaller lighter more

967.98 -> fidgety car it simply doesn't feel like

971.16 -> it has the suspension technology that

973.68 -> would cope with 450 horsepower in the

976.62 -> same way

977.94 -> that the M2 does but I know people have

980.699 -> turned the wick up on these to huge

982.62 -> levels and Report there is still an

985.019 -> absolute barrel of laughs and I can

986.579 -> imagine that but it's fun enough

989.579 -> with only this much

993.199 -> compiling through whales in beautiful

995.399 -> weather on Lovely roads

997.98 -> in a manual 1M

1000.74 -> this is great lots of gear changes

1003.139 -> because in this you throw them in for

1005.42 -> the sake of it because it doesn't really

1007.22 -> matter because you've got all the torque

1008.42 -> from the engine it doesn't really matter

1009.74 -> what gear you're in

1011.899 -> so this takes you back to where the M2

1015.38 -> story started this is when it was just

1018.68 -> more of a skunk work project where you

1020.899 -> think there's Z4 engine in from the Z4

1023.48 -> and you fiddle about with some M

1025.52 -> suspension and all the rest of it and

1027.86 -> you end up with something strangely

1030.439 -> bespoke and unusual

1032.959 -> so the M2 then feels like it's taken

1035.299 -> this formula and modernize it but in so

1038.6 -> doing it's lost some of the character of

1041.66 -> the original it's just so proficient

1043.699 -> around corners that now rather than sort

1046.28 -> of fundamentally deciding how this car

1048.799 -> should look and act and feel they're

1051.08 -> looking backwards to the M2 to go how

1053.48 -> can we recapture that with four series

1056.539 -> underpinnings and as a result they end

1058.16 -> up with a car that's very good I still

1060.44 -> think it's a terrific car but it doesn't

1063.559 -> have that character and Charisma that

1066.38 -> this has by being more flawed so I was

1069.679 -> expecting the engine to be rowdier and

1071.6 -> more present in this but actually it's

1074.299 -> not it's quite distant and in the

1076.46 -> background you don't really you're not

1077.72 -> really aware of it it's just there and

1079.88 -> when it provides a plentiful thump of

1082.46 -> torque and power red line up at 7 000

1085.88 -> and the gearbox just gives you brilliant

1089.539 -> access to that but the engine itself

1092.24 -> isn't actually that exciting so it

1095.9 -> relies on the chassis to really shine

1100.28 -> and in this it does it's a tenacious

1103.64 -> little thing it just wants to dive it

1105.98 -> feels alert and this is why

1108.919 -> it's just terrific it's got so much

1111.5 -> you're not you can't just steer it in

1113.48 -> one Movement Like You Do the other two

1115.16 -> where they feel locked onto Line this

1117.74 -> thing moves around a bit more it gets

1119.48 -> more in you're engaging with it because

1122.24 -> it forces you to

1124.22 -> and I tell you what it's refreshing to

1126.02 -> drive a car that's not trying to

1127.4 -> distract you with loads of screens and

1130.34 -> modes and everything

1131.84 -> because you haven't got any of that in

1133.76 -> here you've got some buttons that's all

1136.039 -> it is and a rotary controller down here

1138.14 -> for the old iDrive

1139.88 -> I don't see a lot off you go crack on

1142.52 -> have fun

1143.54 -> [Music]

1145.94 -> but this car was a whisker under 40

1148.52 -> Grand when it was first launched and you

1150.919 -> still will not find one for under 40

1153.5 -> Grand most of them are around 60 65 and

1157.82 -> driving it again you can sort of see why

1159.86 -> it's just an addictive little thing to

1161.84 -> drive

1163.72 -> [Music]

1169.43 -> [Music]

1171.38 -> Wales is a great country for driving and

1173.9 -> exploring

1174.98 -> further we drove the smaller and

1176.9 -> narrower the roads became sweeping a

1179.539 -> roads leading into sinuous B roads until

1182.299 -> the road markings gave out completely

1184.4 -> and we were weaving our way around Hills

1186.74 -> reservoirs and giant potholes a sure

1189.98 -> sign of a dead end ahead

1194.919 -> here we are then quite literally the end

1198.32 -> of the road and the 1M that remains a

1201.799 -> proper feisty little tough nut the

1204.44 -> Cayman that's a masterpiece just one

1207.2 -> that needs a shorter final drive and the

1210.08 -> M2 does a commendable job of keeping the

1213.08 -> flame alive but the best sports car here

1216.02 -> is the Cayman and yes before you say

1219.32 -> anything I think we'd be saying the same

1221.12 -> thing if we had a GTS up here rather

1224.12 -> than a GT4

1225.919 -> gear changes then well that went to the

1230.24 -> Porsche had the most gear changes not

1232.46 -> because they were necessary but because

1234.2 -> it was fun changing gear in it so what

1237.32 -> conclusions can we draw on the M2 well

1240.559 -> firstly the BMW has done a commendable

1242.6 -> job in making an M3 feel and act like an

1246.679 -> M2 but an M2 with a bit of middle age

1250.34 -> spread it's more capable than before but

1253.58 -> not as tenacious however if you want a

1257.12 -> manual M car it's now this or nothing

1260.36 -> just don't have it with those seats

1264.26 -> foreign

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Si8DaRQ7io