New BMW M2 Is Much More Than a Track Star

The all-new BMW M2 Coupe has been touted for it’s track abilities, but BMW also wants you to know it’s civilized enough for the city and highway. The press launch of the BMW M2 was the next stop on the M2 tour. BMW wanted to show what the new BMW M2 Coupe is all about at the international press day. It was first unveiled in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show. The car is at the Chicago Auto Show now, and it gets driven by the international press at Monterey, California.

The M2 Coupe is the most anticipated car to come out of Bavaria in a long time. It’s the answer to what performance fans have been asking for. The BMW M2 is a return to a smaller, nimble, rear-drive sports coupe and is likely the most exciting car to come out of BMW M GmbH in years. BMW has given us plenty of images and videos of the M2 being drifted around the track. It’s also civilized enough to be a daily driver.

BMW chooses Monterey, California

BMW hosted the international press launch for the New BMW M2 Coupe and the New BMW X4 M40i at Monterey, California. It was the ideal place to showcase the M2’s track abilities for performance fans and it’s also a sports car for driving enthusiasts. The M2 is the car the press wanted to drive at the internationally renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The tight, technical corners and famous corkscrew are perfect for a car like the M2. Because of its extremely technical turns and difficulty, it’s also the perfect place to get in trouble quickly with the 370hp and 343 lb ft of torque driving the rear wheels.

The press got their chance to drive the M2 on the famous track, but had to follow either legendary BMW driver Bill Auberlen or Claudia Hurtgen, the 24-hour BMW driver, for eight laps. The first lap was a warm up for drivers to get comfortable with the car and track. Two more laps at a faster pace allowed the press to get comfortable at higher speeds. Four laps were at higher speeds and a final cool down lap. It was controlled track experience and enough for the press to experience the M2’s track abilities.

M2 is a daily driver

After the hot laps at Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California, the M2 international press launch included scenic drives on California’s beautiful central coast, in various city and highway driving. It included driving the M2 in the hills around Carmel Valley and on the Pacific Coast Highway towards Big Sur for some street driving. It was the ideal place for BMW to showcase the M2’s abilities in the city and on the highway. BMW wants you to know, it’s a sports car for driving enthusiasts and it can be used as a daily driver. These drives just happened to be on the some gorgeous, scenic roads. It’s what driving enthusiasts live for.

Source: BMW