[patrickoccasionallydrives]

Originally Posted by Corinne

I've always had two cars - one nice sportscar from a Porsche 911 to a Caterham Super 7, to a Lotus Elise etc etc) as well as an ordinary car for everyday use ( Citroen 2CV, Fiat 126, Ford Fiesta, Ford Escort and now a BMW 330d which I bought new 13 years ago and which now has 321,000 kms and still looks almost new).

I now need to get a 3rd car as I want to keep the 330d until it dies but I need a new car. It has to be a 4 seater and, since I'm totally impressed by the quality of the BMW, I decided to stick with a BMW. I started off looking at the 225d convertible (cheap to run, low CO2 tax) but after a 20 minute test drive I ditched it (totally devoid of character, nasty rolling in corners, horrible soft suspension, even if it was pretty quick). I then went upscale and tried the M235i but there was something missing ( too soft, unaggressive looks).

I don't want an Audi as the styling is SO utterly butterly boring and looks are really important to me. I need to be able to admire the lines of the car, get a thrill out of looking at it when it's parked. That basically left the M2 even though it's more than I really intended to pay but since I tend to keep my cars an average of 10 years and I'm 61 now, I reckoned this might well be the last new car I buy before I snuff it so I might as well go overboard.

I love the aggressivity of the thing, the sound it makes, the handling and the power. It could have harder suspension, harder steering, more sporty seats but on the whole I think it's the best thing going. I shall put a muffler bypass and a sports cat on it and have it Expelled all over. So it'll be an M2 as an 8 month of the year DD, a supercharged Elise for summer weekends and a 330d for when it rains or snows or for shopping at the supermarket. Maybe there'll be an Ariel Atom one day if I can afford it before I retire. Call me a car-crazy old bag if you will

you're a legend!

[csbear]

Great thread... It's nice to see the passion for this car.

BMW makes many cars right now. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, i, Z, X, and M series. And a bunch of models for each series.

Yet the M2 may be the most 'BMW' of all the BMWs.

[WFS]

Great question and really interesting to see what brought all of us together.

So in 2015 my remaining kidney’s function dropped to 9% and it was clear that it wasn’t long until this one would have to be removed too. So we started to look at donation and lucky for me my mother was a match so the beginning of 2016 was going to be tough to say the least. I’m sure many of you know people who have undergone major surgery and know it can be a real struggle to get back to normal.

So I did the one thing that I knew would make sure I wouldn’t just sit at home and feel sorry for myself I thought I’d buy a new car and so“new kidney, new kidney grills”. I called the dealer as I left the hospital (August 2015) and managed to put a deposit down and get their first car in May 2016.

I am a total car freak and had a real mix of cars, everything from a 62 beetle to an R8. I have to confess I have never had a BMW so when the M235i came out it was considered as one of the best drivers cars out there, and I thought they all can’t be lying.

I am so happy with the car, the size, the power, and the fact it’s still manual, and it did what it was supposed to

[bartginger]

"New kidney, new kidney grills" Best line ever! Get well soon and enjoy your M2 for many years to come!

[WFS]

Originally Posted by bartginger

"New kidney, new kidney grills" Best line ever! Get well soon and enjoy your M2 for many years to come!

Thanks buddy, feeling a lot better thanks. Managed to get back to Bands Hatch and Nurburgring in 2016 so in my head im already better.

2017 has Spa, Zandvoort and a few others in the list.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Robin_NL

Because hips don't lie.

Coming from a 1M and my wife is from Barranquilla you can say I'm addicted to them


Cheers
Robin

Pics or it didn't happen my friend! I've seen pics of 2 out of the 3!!!!

[Semi-Poor]

Having missed out on the 1M and watched the M cars (P cars as well) grow in size the lure of the M2 was irresistible, like the Sirens song. Hopefully I will not crash on the rocks!

[Prudhvionline]

Fell in luv with E46 on the first sight, but couldn't get a new one. SO waited and bought my first BMW an E82 in 2010, absolutely loving it from day one it has 110k miles so far. Waiting on a replacement since then. started to read on M235i when I got to know that M2 is coming. Placed a deposit for M2 LCI and waiting.

[Skwinglos]

After years of being financially responsible and making sure all my pieces are set for the rest of my life I finally came to the conclusion I could afford a new car. Always been into driving and have my dedicated track car so I knew what I wanted. This was around the 1M and 135 time but I couldn't sell myself on the exterior styling and...hmmm...the humble interior for the amount of money I'm going to shell out. I was looking at STIs, Corvettes, Mustang, Camaro, Focus ST, Porsche Cayman, or whatever felt right and the price wasn't obscene for what you got.

Remember this was a few years ago.

Started test driving stuff and the STI, while having a great feeling chassis, was still heavy, under-steered like a FWD pig, samey engine which I was intimately familiar with all the issues because track days, and then a spartan interior. Focus ST was nice but still a bit weak and a bit squirley, even for a FWD car, then you pushed it. Corvette didn't do it for me. Camaro was fugly and I hated everything inside the cabin. Mustang was decent but still felt huge and not as nible as I would have liked. When I priced out the Cayman my way it was hilariously expensive. There were others but they aren't worth mentioning. At that point I was stuck but then there was this 2 series coming soon.

Then stuff happened so I was on hiatus for like a year.

When stuff resumed I started looking again. The latest STIs were still super samey, samey engine, brutal interior, they got rid of the hatch, and after driving a BRZ I was soo disappointed with everything that just stopped caring. Golf Type-R was cool but still VW. New Corvettes were out but still weren't doing it for me and the Grand Sport was still a rumor. Focus RS was still a rumor. I test drove an M235 and really, really liked it. Don't have to go into details because they're obvious. Did my research and saw that this M2 was seen testing on the Nürburgring and did some thinking. Between my truck and my old DD I should be able to hold out until it's official, and I'll be kicking myself in the butt for not getting the best 2-series available. So I put the deposit down on the M2 December 2014 and haven't looked back. While the Focus RS is pretty cool I would have passed. The Corvette Grand Sport is my number 2 behind the BMW.

Since then I passed on the first HEA car, things got muddled on the second car, and now I'm picking mine up on Monday!

[Franzino]

Originally Posted by Corinne

I've always had two cars - one nice sportscar from a Porsche 911 to a Caterham Super 7, to a Lotus Elise etc etc) as well as an ordinary car for everyday use ( Citroen 2CV, Fiat 126, Ford Fiesta, Ford Escort and now a BMW 330d which I bought new 13 years ago and which now has 321,000 kms and still looks almost new).

I now need to get a 3rd car as I want to keep the 330d until it dies but I need a new car. It has to be a 4 seater and, since I'm totally impressed by the quality of the BMW, I decided to stick with a BMW. I started off looking at the 225d convertible (cheap to run, low CO2 tax) but after a 20 minute test drive I ditched it (totally devoid of character, nasty rolling in corners, horrible soft suspension, even if it was pretty quick). I then went upscale and tried the M235i but there was something missing ( too soft, unaggressive looks).

I don't want an Audi as the styling is SO utterly butterly boring and looks are really important to me. I need to be able to admire the lines of the car, get a thrill out of looking at it when it's parked. That basically left the M2 even though it's more than I really intended to pay but since I tend to keep my cars an average of 10 years and I'm 61 now, I reckoned this might well be the last new car I buy before I snuff it so I might as well go overboard.

I love the aggressivity of the thing, the sound it makes, the handling and the power. It could have harder suspension, harder steering, more sporty seats but on the whole I think it's the best thing going. I shall put a muffler bypass and a sports cat on it and have it Expelled all over. So it'll be an M2 as an 8 month of the year DD, a supercharged Elise for summer weekends and a 330d for when it rains or snows or for shopping at the supermarket. Maybe there'll be an Ariel Atom one day if I can afford it before I retire. Call me a car-crazy old bag if you will

Love your style! Sound like me when I'am your age...

[Franzino]

Originally Posted by Skwinglos

Since then I passed on the first HEA car, things got muddled on the second car, and now I'm picking mine up on Monday!

Did you get a manual or DCT M2?

[Ian ///M]

I did it because slavery gets reinstated on the 20th so I had to enjoy myself in the mean time

(Jk)

[Skwinglos]

Originally Posted by Franzino

Did you get a manual or DCT M2?

Manual all the way

[ilovewagons]

Back in 2008 (while still at uni), I saw this ad and fell in love with the e82 135i. What a car that was. At the time, I had about $200 bucks to my name, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of pants and a handful of shirts. At the time, to say it would have been an impossible dream would have been an understatement.

Once I graduated and got my first job, I of course went and bought a Mk V VW GTI. Because if you weren’t a lunatic or a zillionaire, it was the best car on sale at the time, and there was no way I was going to screw up that early in life by buying a loony performance car I could barely afford. I also married my g/f of 8 yrs. You read that right. Now just imagine the woman who could turn a college aged male monogamous. Woman could start a fight in a monastery just by walking across a room. Anyway, there was no way I was going to drag her down with me as we'd just started to build a life together.

Time passed, I owned one and then a second Mk VI GTI, which was better than the Mk V in every way, while still being not as good. It was so smooth and so capable and competent, I found myself missing the Mk V’s character and rough edges. A bit more time passed, Had a kid(s), started a business and it’s 2013. I decide to buy a BMW. I’m driving a lot, so I wanted something good to drive, reasonably sensible and good for family duties. What I really wanted was an M135i hatch. What I got was a 328i wagon, which proved to be a terrific car That I loved and still enjoy driving.

It also marked a turning point. Before this time, I’d been told variously that I:

- wouldn’t graduate highschool
- wouldn’t get grades good enough to go to the uni of my choice
- wouldn’t do well enough to graduate uni
- wouldn’t be able to get a job
- wouldn’t be able to keep my job
- wouldn’t be able to start a business
- wouldn’t be able to keep it going
- wouldn’t be able to do more than make a small profit
- etc.

I started to realise that 99% of life’s negativity comes from the people around you who literally cannot conceive of anything better than what they’re doing at the moment. I still remember talking to respected friends and colleagues about starting a business together while they acted like I was suggesting they shove a lit stick of dynamite up their ass and jump off a bridge.

Anyway, after a few years of driving my wagon, I realised I’d bought a car for everyone except the person who would be driving it the most. Me. Resolving to change this, I decided to try and buy an M car. So I worked harder and we did better and the F80 M3 came out. I’d followed the rumours (I didn’t make enough money fast enough to be able to afford an e90 M3, like I’d wanted, and they were too old and unsuitable for a daily car). I still remember being in disbelief at how unsatisfying the exhaust was and watching every youtube video I could find and pricing exhausts that would hopefully fix it.

Then I heard rumours of the M2. I remember checking out this forum, back when it was 4 v 6 cylinders and 1M owners haughtily polishing their monocles and patiently explaining to anyone in tedious detail how their abortive workshop special of a car was more special and precious than the shroud of Turin. For the record, I was in favour of 4 cylinders because I thought it would get a detuned S55 and I just couldn’t pay serious money for one of BMW’s worst engines, even if it came in a good chassis. I will admit to some incorrectness in that opinion.

More time passed. It’s 2016 and I pay to go to an M drive day. Inside, there is a small voice screaming about how nuts it is to pay $500 to go test a car you’re also going to pay for, but I silence that voice with more M2 youtube videos. Reviews are coming in and the car is looking (and sounding) great.

I do my drive day and I’m sold on the drive through the pits onto the track. The car is an absolute legend to drive, a superlative and endlessly enjoyable experience. And the sound… a great, creamy, smooth, throaty howl, with a metallic, mechanical edge to it past 4000rpm. Lots of high frequency sound that just doesn’t record well enough to do it justice.

I place my order a week after, mineral grey, every option sans sunroof (can’t fit in the car with a helmet on). The M2 becomes the first new car I’ve ever bought.

[Destroya]

"1 M owners haughtily polishing their monocles". Love it!

The joy of waiting and scheming for the car that is just right for you to come along and then being able to buy it. Priceless.

[TheBatM2]

Originally Posted by ilovewagons

Back in 2008 (while still at uni), I saw this ad and fell in love with the e82 135i. What a car that was. At the time, I had about $200 bucks to my name, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of pants and a handful of shirts. At the time, to say it would have been an impossible dream would have been an understatement.

Once I graduated and got my first job, I of course went and bought a Mk V VW GTI. Because if you weren’t a lunatic or a zillionaire, it was the best car on sale at the time, and there was no way I was going to screw up that early in life by buying a loony performance car I could barely afford. I also married my g/f of 8 yrs. You read that right. Now just imagine the woman who could turn a college aged male monogamous. Woman could start a fight in a monastery just by walking across a room. Anyway, there was no way I was going to drag her down with me as we'd just started to build a life together.

Time passed, I owned one and then a second Mk VI GTI, which was better than the Mk V in every way, while still being not as good. It was so smooth and so capable and competent, I found myself missing the Mk V’s character and rough edges. A bit more time passed, Had a kid(s), started a business and it’s 2013. I decide to buy a BMW. I’m driving a lot, so I wanted something good to drive, reasonably sensible and good for family duties. What I really wanted was an M135i hatch. What I got was a 328i wagon, which proved to be a terrific car That I loved and still enjoy driving.

It also marked a turning point. Before this time, I’d been told variously that I:

- wouldn’t graduate highschool
- wouldn’t get grades good enough to go to the uni of my choice
- wouldn’t do well enough to graduate uni
- wouldn’t be able to get a job
- wouldn’t be able to keep my job
- wouldn’t be able to start a business
- wouldn’t be able to keep it going
- wouldn’t be able to do more than make a small profit
- etc.

I started to realise that 99% of life’s negativity comes from the people around you who literally cannot conceive of anything better than what they’re doing at the moment. I still remember talking to respected friends and colleagues about starting a business together while they acted like I was suggesting they shove a lit stick of dynamite up their ass and jump off a bridge.

Anyway, after a few years of driving my wagon, I realised I’d bought a car for everyone except the person who would be driving it the most. Me. Resolving to change this, I decided to try and buy an M car. So I worked harder and we did better and the F80 M3 came out. I’d followed the rumours (I didn’t make enough money fast enough to be able to afford an e90 M3, like I’d wanted, and they were too old and unsuitable for a daily car). I still remember being in disbelief at how unsatisfying the exhaust was and watching every youtube video I could find and pricing exhausts that would hopefully fix it.

Then I heard rumours of the M2. I remember checking out this forum, back when it was 4 v 6 cylinders and 1M owners haughtily polishing their monocles and patiently explaining to anyone in tedious detail how their abortive workshop special of a car was more special and precious than the shroud of Turin. For the record, I was in favour of 4 cylinders because I thought it would get a detuned S55 and I just couldn’t pay serious money for one of BMW’s worst engines, even if it came in a good chassis. I will admit to some incorrectness in that opinion.

More time passed. It’s 2016 and I pay to go to an M drive day. Inside, there is a small voice screaming about how nuts it is to pay $500 to go test a car you’re also going to pay for, but I silence that voice with more M2 youtube videos. Reviews are coming in and the car is looking (and sounding) great.

I do my drive day and I’m sold on the drive through the pits onto the track. The car is an absolute legend to drive, a superlative and endlessly enjoyable experience. And the sound… a great, creamy, smooth, throaty howl, with a metallic, mechanical edge to it past 4000rpm. Lots of high frequency sound that just doesn’t record well enough to do it justice.

I place my order a week after, mineral grey, every option sans sunroof (can’t fit in the car with a helmet on). The M2 becomes the first new car I’ve ever bought.

Congratulations, and your story is just perfect! I bet there are many others responsible like you, who will finally be fulfilling their dream of driving an M. I know I'm one of them.

[Corinne]

Originally Posted by Destroya

"1 M owners haughtily polishing their monocles". Love it!

The joy of waiting and scheming for the car that is just right for you to come along and then being able to buy it. Priceless.

Yes I loved that phrase too ! I totally agree about others' negativity. If I hadn't listened to others I'd be a professional pilot now, albeit in addition to being a private pilot of planes, ultralights, hang-gliders, paragliders and speed-riding wings :-( I've finally learned to do what my heart tells me to do.

[arquitecto]

I was able to attend the WRC in Argentina many years ago. I spent the entire day camped out watching Subarus and Evo's blasting through the Andes. We stood 20 feet from the peak of a big jump and overlooked three or four corners across a valley. Watching the speeds those things can achieve over terrain that would be treacherous at 30mph let alone 100+ was utterly incredible! That is the moment I decided I would need to own a fast car!

Had my eye on picking up a 2005 Subaru STi back when they were new. At the time it wasn't feasible, it was too expensive and the insurance was astronomical for me I my early twenties. The base wrx didn't appeal to me so I went with a used e39 that became available to me within my budget. I wanted something sporty that I could haul my friends around in so I thought I would give it a shot until I could find a way to get the STi.

Thanks to this decision I fell in love with BMW. I had driven subarus and evos but as soon as I drove the e39 I was sold. I was worried all the extra weight and luxury would spoil the driving experience but I was wrong. The e39 is definitely not as sharp as the Subaru but it is fantastic and so much more refined.

Fast forward to today, on the market for a new car. Something faster and smaller than the e39. M3/M4 is close to the size of my e39! Also is very expensive and has huge amounts of power. So of course I took a look at the STi. The newer styling doesn't do it for me. I have zero interest in owning that car. I love everything it stands for, performance/handling/practicality, but I could not get over the styling. Same with the regular 2-series, m235/m240.

Enter M2, similar specs to the Subaru I fell in love with minus the awd. Read the articles and reviews and it placed it on my wish list. Then a few weeks later I saw my first M2 on the road. I was at a restaurant enjoying dinner and hear the familiar sound of an M2 on the over run. Turn around and see a gorgeous LBB in the low sunlight slowly rolling up to a stop light.

That was it. Made appointment with dealer to order mine the next morning.

So I guess the M2 came at a good time.

[jc9elfer]

...was replacing my wife's 2007 328i. Went to the dealership to buy her (us) (OK, Me) an M4. She sat in the M4 and liked it...but thought it was big for a 2-seater. In the back corner of the dealership was a MPE'd White M235i. We fell in love with the size...then I asked if there was an M2.... the next week I put my name on the list of my allocation. That was October of 2015. Our car (BSM/DCT) arrived in August 2016. Loving' every minute of it!

[littleoldman]

I am buying it because BMW NA is giving me $3K Loyalty discount, USAA is giving me $2K and the dealer is giving me it at MSRP...so the $56 MSRP (DCT) is coming in at $50K...So Im trading my 335D Sport for it.

Figure I can drive it for a while and sell it for typical MSRP without losing $. Feels like a safe bet.

[Wangspeed]

Because my wife said, "No fu(king way" when she heard me rev a GT350.

The M2 is a better daily, but I still lust for the 350.

[DivideBYZero]

Originally Posted by Wangspeed

Because my wife said, "No fu(king way" when she heard me rev a GT350.

The M2 is a better daily, but I still lust for the 350.

I bet your testes feel nice and comfy in her handbag, though.