It was good to hear that the next-generation BMW 2 Series Coupe would be keeping its RWD architecture, but then we got our first look at it without any camouflage in a series of leaked images and it left us feeling a bit flat.

The images show the car, which appears to be the M240i, partially covered by a tarp. It's not the most flattering angle nor the most exciting color combination but we weren't huge fans of the design. That was until we saw what the M2 version could look like.

Rendering artist Nikita Chuyko has taken the front and rear designs from the leaked photos and grafted them on the current M2 CS. With a more attractive shade of blue and the gold wheels of the hardcore CS model, this new design language doesn't seem half bad. It is certainly less polarizing than the massive grille on the upcoming 4 Series.

Obviously, the rendering artist can't predict what the side profile of the car will look like (because it was under a cover in the leak) but we think the front and rear look much better here than they did in the spy photos. And is a mild improvement over recent renderings of the hot 2er.

BMW has already said it has no plans to build an M version of the 2 Series Gran Coupe, so we will have to wait for this RWD M2 Coupe to get our entry-level M car fix. The 2 Series Coupe is expected to arrive next year in 2021 as a 2022 model year vehicle, likely in four-cylinder 230i and six-cylinder M240i guises with an M2 model to follow later. We expect around 255 horsepower from the 230i and around 382 hp from the M240i.