Quote:
Originally Posted by Karmic Man
Though most of the people who disliked the S55 acoustically are N55 owners so I am not sure if the preference is fully impartial. 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' is a common phenomenon.
I would argue that BMW M actually preferred the S55 on the M2 because it is an engine fully developed by the M division. It makes sense to have standardisation. That is, M model only uses M engine.
On the OG M2, the S55 was given a hold by the marketing department because it might dent the marketability of the M3/M4
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I agree. I'm not going to say the S55 sounds better than the N55, but it's hardly the worst sound in the world as most N55 drivers would have you believe. I'd much rather have the extra 40HP/TQ for the change in sound. It's a very subjective subject so hardly a real tangible argument, anyway.
I feel BMW placed the N55 in the OG M2 because the S55 would've competed too closely to it's bigger M3/M4 brothers in their prime, for sales. The M2 was essentially an entry level M-car anyway and they needed to cut costs. Perhaps the M2C is what the M Division wanted the OG M2 to be in the beginning, but couldn't do. Now that the M2C is basically standing alone, the M division doesn't have to restrict it to prevent it from overshadowing it's bigger brothers and impeding sales at the higher price points. Additionally, the fact BMW was forced into this decision by emissions standards ultimately benefited all M2C owners as it probably wouldn't have happened otherwise.