[Artemis]

Originally Posted by BishUK

It should be clear to anyone now (including Artemis, who is surely too educated and knowledgable to still be flying this flag) that an M2 Comp with MPerformance parts will never get close to being a CS. The sum of all the bespoke CS (and non MPerformance branded) parts/materials together with the handling, engine and power delivery improvements easily place the CS on a higher level.

See for example this comment posted in November 2019:

Originally Posted by Artemis

Some points to note:

• Also in the US it should be possible to negotiate a discount on an M2C. MSRP is, as it says, 'suggested'. So the base figure for calculation is normally lower than MSRP. However, it will be harder to negotiate a discount on an M2 CS than on an M2C (more in the US than in Europe). Although it's bad stereotyping, you Americans easily get infatuated by the words "limited edition", even if it's just a 'Marketing 101' trick in full effect: create artificial scarcity to boost the hype and price (see here and here).
• Under the M2 CS lookalike scenario: except for the roof, the original replaced parts aren't sent to the scrapyard. For example a brandnew set of 788M wheels that got replaced by 763M wheels, ain't worth $0. You can recoup a small part of the price of the new parts by parting out the existing replaced ones, or keep those as spare parts for future purposes (retrofitting at resale date + parting out the aftermarkter/new parts).
  
• Mimicking an M2 CS will never get you an M2 CS - it will rather get you a questionable "M2 CS wannabe" status. But to each his own. Lots of petrolheads add parts because they like those, or consider those functional, rather than for mimicking a higher tier car in the car pecking order.
• Several 'M2 CS only' parts are new and no 'M Performance Parts'. For example, it would surprise me if the 763M wheels on the M2 CS would feature "M Performance" stamps. I guess they don't. And more generally speaking, in principle, 'M2 CS only' parts will only be made available by BMW to M2 CS customers. Non-M2 CS owners either need to browse through the M Performance back catalogue, or need to venture around in the after market circuit, or ask an M2 CS friend a favor, or - horresco referens & left to your own devices as regards risks - buy questionable cheapo replicas or knock-offs.

August 2020:

Originally Posted by Artemis

Of course, the M2 CS and M2C are a total package, more than the sum of their parts. Figures are figures and emotions are emotions. Figures can evoke emotions and vice versa: for example what does it take for each of us in work efforts to collect the money for a car. For some, money is no issue, for others, it is an issue.

For my mindset about the M2 CS reflected by 10 posts from 2019: see here.