Images of the new BMW 2 Series Coupe have surfaced online, revealing the styling of the range-topping M240i model in full.
Images of what looks like the next-generation BMW 2 Series Coupe have leaked online ahead of the car’s debut later this week at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The new sports car will soon become a rival for everything from the Audi TT to more focussed coupes such as the new Toyota GR 86.
These images show the new 2 Series Coupe in M240i guise, which nets buyers larger alloy wheels, a sharper front bumper and splitter arrangement, deeper side skirts and an aggressive rear diffuser with twin-exit exhausts.
The coupe’s design is more aggressive and angular than its predecessor’s, and the proportions alter with the new car getting a longer bonnet, sharply sloping shoulder lines and a low, tapered roof.
Also, rather than aping the front-end styling of the larger 4 Series Coupe, the new 2 Series Coupe will have a more moderate design language, which may even have been influenced by the X2 SUV.
BMW has also kept the coupe’s kidney grilles to a sensible size and borrowed elements of the crossover’s aggressive front bumper design with triangular vents. The headlights are a similar shape to the X2’s, although the rear bumper and lights are completely unique to the coupe.
This M240i model will be powered by the same turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine found in the BMW M440i, which will have an identical output of 275kW. It’ll also send drive to all four wheels through BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system and an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Purists needn’t fret, though, as BMW has stressed that the coupe’s four-wheel drive system will be heavily rear-biased. It’ll also come with an electronically locking differential on the rear axle, which the company says will allow for “easily controllable drift manoeuvres.”
It’ll be based on an adapted version of the CLAR platform found under the 3 Series saloon and 4 Series Coupe. BMW has also promised that every 2 Series Coupe will have “effortlessly controllable handling,” thanks to items such as adaptive power steering and a completely redesigned body shell, which is around 12 per cent stiffer than the old car’s.
The company’s engineers have also widened the car’s track, to help reduce body roll– and the brand says the new 2 Series will have a near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, thanks in part to the gearbox’s placement on the rear axle.
Aerodynamics play a big part in the car’s design, too. The flagship M240i model will have a flat undertray and air deflectors, in addition to the aggressive splitter shown on these leaked images. BMW says these improvements contribute to a 50 percent reduction in front axle lift over the previous model.
Luke Wilkinson