The BMW M2 equipped with the M Performance track kit has set a Nürburgring lap time of 7:25.068, with BMW M test engineer Jörg Weidinger at the wheel. That time is 0.5 seconds quicker than the flagship BMW M2 CS, with the track kit car having less power but increased downforce.
The track kit gives the M2 a significantly revised, manually adjustable splitter with canards, plus provisions on the front bumper for additional canards on either side. There’s also a scoop under the upstream engine oil cooler. There’s no CS-style flipped-up boot lid; instead, a standard M2 boot lid is used, albeit now with a large swan-neck rear wing attached. This is easily the biggest aerodynamic appendage BMW has offered on a road car this century, making the lineage of M3 and M4 GTS models look just a little tame.
The wing is adjustable, with what BMW calls a ‘race mode’, which positions the wing element 50 millimeters further back, though this position would make the car non-compliant with German road regulations, so there’s ‘street mode’ for legality. You can also change the wing element’s angle of attack with two different settings, depending on what downforce you want.
You’ll know it’s a legitimate item when you see one too, given the integrated brake light. What has not been specified is whether the car was in its non-road-legal trackday setup. However, a closer look at an image of the car that completed the run shows the wing in its most aggressive position.
Under the skin, the M2 track kit also features coilover suspension with motorsport dampers (a first for road homologation), featuring four-way adjustable rebound and compression. There are also adjustable support bearings, ride height adjustment (able to be lowered by 20mm) and motorsport dampers. You can also optionally fit ‘ultra-track’ tyres, which are a separate cost from the track pack.
Specifics weren’t given on the tyres, though zooming in on the pair of cars sitting stationary, we do see a Pirelli logo on the sidewall. BMW has not specified what tyres were used for the Nürburgring time either; however, images of the car that completed the run do show ‘Trofeo’ script on the front tyres, suggesting the ‘ultra-track’ option was used.
The M Performance exhaust enhances the sound but does not increase performance compared to the M2’s already potent 473bhp and 442lb ft power and torque output. BMW claims the M2 will get from 0-62mph in 4 seconds and top out at 160mph.
Keeping in mind how we felt about the new M2 CS when we had it on evo Car of the Year 2025, this track kit could be the transformation of the M2 we were looking for, to deliver the extra focus the CS seems to lack. Whether such an enhancement could be worth the £20,000 (plus taxes) the kit costs, on top of the base car? That’s down to the individual.
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