BMW has been working on a new M2 for a while now, but the Bavarian automaker continues to hide the design of the all-new high-performance sports coupe. Fortunately, we've got some clues as to what we can expect thanks to a recent leak of the new bumper design which, thankfully, will not adopt the vertical kidneys of its M3 big brother. With a look unique to the M2, the new sports car looks like it'll stand out even in a sea of regular 2 Series models. But as much as people have talked about the way that contemporary BMW designs are controversial, what really matters is the way its cars drive. To perfect that, the new BMW M2 is currently undergoing testing at the Nurburgring.

The prototype development model in these new shots is wearing a special antenna on its roof. You can also make out a passenger in the car using a laptop as the driver cruises the public roads around the famous racetrack, presumably monitoring something on the car and relaying that info back to HQ in real-time. A closer look suggests that the new front fascia will protrude from the body slightly, likely to accommodate a more comprehensive cooling system. We can also see the M-specific sport seats in the car, but it's unclear at this point if these will adopt the carbon-intensive design seen on the M3.

Production of the all-new G87 M2 is expected to get underway in December of 2022 with the final version set to arrive as a 2023 model. As for what will power the car, we don't yet have anything concrete but we expect it to get either an upgraded version of the latest M240i's 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six or a detuned version of the twin-turbo six-cylinder in the current G80 M3. The video definitely sounds like a throaty inline-six, and while we don't get to hear it under stress, it sounds pretty good just trundling about.

We still have a long while to wait to confirm more details, but as this prototype is wearing slightly less camouflage than we've seen before, we can look forward to watching the car shed more skin over the coming months.