[ozinaldo]

Originally Posted by Red Bread

It's weird, I don't feel like I said the N55 wasn't capable. There's one in my wife's car. It's just nothing like what I want out of an actual M motor. And it's an M car, a little bit more maintenance (see S54's shimmed valves) is fine with me.

If this were about fun, not money, I'd much prefer a 3,100 pound M2 with 340 hp to a 3,400 pound one with 380 hp, even though they'd both have roughly the same power to weight.

What's the point of an M2 if it's just an M235i with less of a tune than the aftermarket will already provide and some optional $8k ceramic brakes?

I lean towards this comment; 1M had a massaged N54 which was already a strong engine with great tuning potential, and the reason was budget and time constraints back then. It did really well under those circumstances. I would only pass to a M2 if this time (as promised by BMW many times) they would develop it from blank paper and with no or at least much less budget and time constraints. That would be something new and worthy, be it four or six banger. With this start, I am not keeping my hopes very high for a 'special' car. It might well be a very good car, more performant, best in its class against competition and everything but if it lacks that 'it' factor that even 1M had in spades despite being essentially a parts bin car (because it was a week-end garage project of the M engineers themselves) I won't find it worthy of a upgrade after the 1M.

I sense too much of a business case here if a N55 based M2 will turn out to be the case and am afraid that they won't let it to be too good against the presence of M3/M4.

At least 1M was same chassis in a small package with a torquey turbo engine vs. the screaming V8 of the E9X M3; so it was an alternative, a different proposal. What is going to be really, essentially different with the N55 equipped M2? Only people who can't afford the M3 will go and buy it or ones who want a new lease after their 1 series.

I wanted it to be the best M car not second or third.