M2

Make
BMW
Segment
Coupe

Even though the BMW M2 was touted as the purest of the current BMW M car crop, it lacked a few key elements to make it perfect - namely, an 'S' engine. Almost all BMW M cars throughout history have been powered by a bespoke engine starting with the letter 'S' but the standard M2 used a modified version of the N55 inline-six found in other non-M BMW models. When BMW introduced the M2 Competition, it dropped in the more potent S55 engine from the current M3/M4 and significantly increased power output.

The old M2's N55 twin-scroll 3.0-liter inline-six produced 365 horsepower and 343 lb-ft of torque but the new twin-turbo S55 inline-six produces a whopping 405 hp and 406 lb-ft. This massive increase in power (as well as a few other upgrades) comes at a cost of $4,400 over a standard M2. With an increase of 35 hp and 63 lb-ft of torque, you might expect the Competition model to be significantly faster than the base M2.

As it turns out, the Competition model is only marginally faster at best. In a performance test by Car and Driver, the M2 Competition with the DCT managed to hit 60 mph in four seconds flat (the same as the base M2). The car did complete the quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds at 116 mph, which was a tenth of a second quicker and three mph faster than the base car.

We know the Competition model is a few seconds quicker than the base car around the Nurburgring but few people will ever take their car there to notice a difference. Even though the Competition model isn't much faster out of the box, it should accept more power on the aftermarket due to its twin-turbo setup. So if you are the type of person who likes to tune your car, the M2 Competition may be worth the upgrade.