[Jimjamz]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

Updated: 9 September 2021 - 1 year on
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Going back over F87 CS reviews it's been obvious they've changed markedly in tone over the 1 year release cycle of the car. My key take away - early value comparisons to the F87 Competition fell away as it became clearer what BMW M had achieved with the F87 CS. If you have one of these unicorns parked in your garage, enjoy and appreciate...


1. CS vs Competition
Initially reviews seemed to focus on the incremental improvement of the CS over the competition though often fixated on the price. Often the reviews seemed based on limited time with the car. Some of the early blog reviewers were owners of current M2 Competitions (already by now considered by many a great M):

• Joe Achilles:
• Car:
• 888MF:
• Raiti's Rides:
• Car Mad Dad:

2. CS shines through in-depth reviews
Then over the next 4-5 months more in depth reviews emerged showing a deeper appreciation of the F87 CS in its own right.

• GT Spirit: https://gtspirit.com/2020/08/16/2020-bmw-m2-cs-review/
• The Straight Pipes:
• Joe Achilles:
• Autocar:
• AutoTrader:
• The Australian Newspaper: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/wee...0fe06863562e2f
• Chasing Cars :
• Autoblog road review: https://www.autoblog.com/2021/08/18/...5_FntZA96WoF_g
• Boss Hunting: https://www.bosshunting.com.au/motor...-m2-cs-review/
• Motor1: https://www.motor1.com/reviews/45174...s-first-drive/

3. F87 CS VS Porsche 718 GT4 and the rest
There also emerged reviews that pitted the F87 CS against the 718 GT4 mid-engined 2 seat track-focused sports car and other 2 seated competitors. Many (but not all) sports auto journalists said the F87 CS was the most fun but the GT4 was the better track car.

• Car Gurus:
• Pistonheads: https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-...mw-m2-cs/43497
• Cars with Luke (Luke preferred the CS):
• Sport Auto Track Battle (Exige 410 Sport, GT4, F87 M2 CS 2nd):
• Auto Bild Sportscars (GTS 4.0, AMG 45S, F87 CS - 1st)
• LoveCars (Tiff does last gen GT4 vs F87 CS:
• MotorTrend : https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2...arison-review/

4. The F87 CS is King of the World.
As its production drew to a close and it sold out across markets, its price was less of an issue and the F87 CS was increasingly compared to the best in the automotive world - and found to be a champion among them.

• EVO 2020 Car of the Year: https://www.evo.co.uk/ecoty/203296/e...20-on-sale-now
• AutoBild 2020 Sportscar of the Year (Class winner: small and compact series): https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/deuts...leserwahl-von-"auto-bild-sportscars"-2020?language=de
• Top Gear: Top3 2020 Speed Week: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/speed-week-2020
• Forbes [Best Performance and Sportscars of the Year: 2021]: https://www.forbes.com/wheels/advice...nce-cars-2021/
• Straight Pipes 2020 Car of the Year (<$100k):
  
• Evo UK's Best German Performance Car of all time :https://www.evo.co.uk/best-cars/2019...st-and-present
  

5. BMW M's GOAT? Does the F87 CS dare to dream?
Its position now recognised among its contemporary rivals, the F87 CS was then compared against the greatest of BMWs: the E46 M3 CSL, the E87 1M, the E30 M3 and the 2002 Turbo... and increasingly deemed a champion among these greats.

• MotorTrend: https://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/...t-test-review/
• Top Gear: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/ret...l-vs-bmw-m2-cs
• CarBuzz: https://carbuzz.com/features/6-reaso...reatest-m3-yet
• The Straight Pipes:
• Throttle House:
• CompleteCar Ireland:
• Joe Achilles:
• Matthias Malmedie:
• Coaches (Esp):
• Car and Driver :https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...y-the-numbers/
• Carbuzz :https://carbuzz.com/features/6-reaso...reatest-m3-yet
  

My takeaway in preparing this? If you have an F87 M2 CS in your garage, you have something special. Enjoy the engineering, design and obvious passion that went into creating it. And enjoy the drive as it becomes one of the all-time M greats.

[ScullyD]

https://www.evo.co.uk/bmw/m2/cs

Evo's Review from July 31 2020 said "Future Classic" 5 stars, best BMW M in a long time.

[jessief29812]

No buyers remorse here.... it's truly a special car. So blessed to be able to have this car as I feel like it'll go down as a classic.

[ptgltw]

Great time line post. I was following along every step of the way. I was on the fence about my decision until the some of the last reviews. While the car has its weaknesses the drive makes you forget all about them when you're behind the wheel.

[gemini.m3]

Nice effort jimbo

I cannot wait to row the gears on my m2 cs

[Bimmed Out]

This is great, Jim. Thank you for putting this together. I have enjoyed watching several of these reviews multiple times.

[DocEyes]

Excellent sequence. Nice work! Watched many of these more than once waiting. Incredibly excited to own this car and can’t wait for winter to end so I can start driving it. As fate would have it, the day we walked into the dealership to take delivery of our X3 this August was the same day someone backed out of the dealership’s last allocation.

[MadBimmeRad]

Originally Posted by Jimjamz

My takeaway in preparing this? If you have an F87 M2 CS in your garage, you have something special. Enjoy the engineering, design vision and obvious passion that went into creating it. And be part of its journey as it becomes one of the all-time greats of BMW M.

You've just hit this out of the park mate and blown the roof with it on the way out

You Sir, are officially my new hero

[ptgltw]

Who is calling it the GOAT M? New model best M for sure but GOAT M?

This is a great debate, My ranking has it 6th

E30 M3
M1
LTW
E46M CSL
1M
M2 CS

[Jimjamz]

Originally Posted by ptgltw

Who is calling it the GOAT M? New model best M for sure but GOAT M?

This is a great debate, My ranking has it 6th

E30 M3
M1
LTW
E46M (mainly because of CSL)
1M
M2 CSL

I suspect the answer to this will be determined in part by the passion of the owners and those that pine after it. And as with all things great, the final verdict will take time to emerge. One thing I will say is that momentum is strong with the F87.

[Bimmed Out]

Originally Posted by ptgltw

Who is calling it the GOAT M? New model best M for sure but GOAT M?

This is a great debate, My ranking has it 6th

E30 M3
M1
LTW
E46M CSL
1M
M2 CS

Everyone is entitled to their personal ranking list, of course. But imho the CSL with that awful SMG box has to be the most overrated ///M ever. And I doubt many will place the 1M above the CS when it's all said and done. Reviewers who have driven both certainly haven't. I doubt there will ever be a consensus ///M GOAT, but don't be surprised if the CS is in the conversation of the top few ///M cars in history.

[ptgltw]

Originally Posted by Bimmed Out

Everyone is entitled to their personal ranking list, of course. But imho the CSL with that awful SMG box has to be the most overrated ///M ever. And I doubt many will place the 1M above the CS when it's all said and done. Reviewers who have driven both certainly haven't. I doubt there will ever be a consensus ///M GOAT, but don't be surprised if the CS is in the conversation of the top few ///M cars in history.

I agree and think over time the CS will overtake the 1M.

[Al Bundy's Dodge]

Great timeline OP, thanks for posting.


Similar to comparing athletes across different eras, It's tough to compare cars across generations. The game is different, the technology is different, etc...so the debate will be endless.

That said, no doubt in my mind that the F87 platform is an all time great M car. Where it ranks I don't really care. I just know it's one of the best, and certainly the best of the F generation of BMW cars.

As I said in another thread, I think owning any variant of the M2 leaves the owner with a future classic. Not only because of the driving dynamics but the fact that it's the first generation M2. The CS of course being the most prized within that group. It's great to see so many owners truly love and appreciate their M2s!

[sdhotwn]

It's a bit like saying what's the best food and then trying to debate between an amazing steak, perfect chocolate, flawless bourbon, or peerless pecan pie. You may not like one, while I may adore the other above all else. Doesn't change the mastery of that particular food, or the craft achieved in that recipe.

[MadBimmeRad]

Originally Posted by sdhotwn

It's a bit like saying what's the best food and then trying to debate between an amazing steak, perfect chocolate, flawless bourbon, or peerless pecan pie. You may not like one, while I may adore the other above all else. Doesn't change the mastery of that particular food, or the craft achieved in that recipe.

OMG

You took the words right out of my mouth

As an Australian, I must say, the best thing I love about the US (but not the only thing) is your incredible steaks. Better yet, bison steak.

Everyone has different views on this but I'm sure they all share the same underlying fundamentals; BMW has produced some iconic and memorable cars that will be loved for time immemorial and never need validation or explanation.

They just ARE!

[AlexFL]

To the M2 CS owners: Never sell your car, protect the paint, and keep the mileage as low as only possible. This car will cost a fortune in 20 years.

[Germanauto]

I think most would agree the E46 CSL is probably the GOAT, but even that can be debated. But otherwise BMW's M division has produced a number of exceptional cars which the M2 finds itself in the company of. This is a legendary car, enjoy it while it's still around.

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by AlexFL

To the M2 CS owners: Never sell your car, protect the paint, and keep the mileage as low as only possible. This car will cost a fortune in 20 years.

It's probably such an exceptional car that one can't resist driving it.

[Ghostriderf80]

The one with M2C vs Lotus vs Porsche

Can you hear the understeer on the BMW. It really reminds me of MK2 Golf.

For the money they really should have addressed this issue. No place for understeer on this car.

No surprise Porsche won, but not by much. Get rid of BMW understeer and it would be the other way.

[Salespunk]

Originally Posted by AlexFL

To the M2 CS owners: Never sell your car, protect the paint, and DRIVE IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. This car might be worth what you paid for it in 20 years.

Fixed it for you

[JustChris]

I don't think it's pedigree has ever been in doubt.

Not here.

Not anywhere.

It's still a really expensive M2C that's incrementally better than the M2C.

Easily the best M car of recent times... but sadly that's not that difficult considering how size and weight holds back the series cars.

Also the emergence of the GTS 4.0 cayman has seen prices drop and availability of actual GT4s. These can be picked up from £82k (used) and the last M2CS were high £80s in the ones I saw. Thus perhaps used for used these prices are very similar now.

I'd say the M2CS is by far the best received M car of recent times, but am not convinced it will hold value etc to resellers. Time will tell but just drive and enjoy.

Thanks OP for putting those details all together.

[JRobUSC]

Originally Posted by MadBimmeRad

As an Australian, I must say, the best thing I love about the US (but not the only thing) is your incredible steaks. Better yet, bison steak.

I must say, that was surprising to read - I have paid hefty sums over the years for high BMS Australian Wagyu and never regretted the cost because of how much better that beef was than what we have here.