I’ve long argued that if you want a proper BMW M car, you have to get a special one, like one of its recent string of “CS” cars. The F87-generation BMW M2 didn’t feel quite as good as the 1M it replaced until the M2 CS came along. The F90-generation M5 felt big and numb until the M5 CS, which I maintain is the best sedan I’ve ever driven. Now, the new 2026 BMW M2 CS is hoping to replicate that success, and it certainly has the specs to do so.
BMW already showed the world what the M2 CS looks like at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Lake Como. While not much changed visually, its integrated ducktail spoiler does a lot of visual heavy lifting. In turn, the M2 CS looks much more exciting than the comparatively boring-looking M2. (OK, those colors certainly aren’t boring).
What’s more important, though, is what’s behind those funny square kidney grilles and underneath its bulging fenders.
Output from its 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six gets bumped from 473 horsepower to a whopping 523 horsepower, while torque is up from 443 lb-ft to 479 lb-ft. Purists rejoice: all of that power is still sent to the rear wheels alone. However, such purist happiness will be short-lived, as the M2 CS will only come with an automatic transmission—the same eight-speed ZF unit found in every other M car. BMW says throttle responses and shifts have been tuned specifically for CS duty, to make them more immediate.
BMW also shed 100 pounds from the standard automatic-equipped M2 with some carbon fiber aero and interior bits, plus standard lightweight forged wheels. The result of its added power and lower curb weight is a claimed zero to 60 mph time of 3.7 seconds, which is four-tenths quicker than the standard M2. Bimmers tend to test quicker than their claimed times in reality, so I’d expect this one to do the same. It’s still 3,770 pounds, though, so it’s not like it suddenly became a featherweight.
Where I’m hoping BMW did most of its work is in the suspension. The standard M2 is far from a bad sports car. It’s grippy, sharp, and incredibly capable. Its problem is that it’s almost too capable, as it makes driving quickly too easy and synthetic feeling. However, BMW made enough tweaks to the suspensions of previous CS models—bushings, ball joints, and basically anything that connected the car to the ground—to genuinely transform the feel. And it seems like BMW might have done something similar here. The M2 CS has unique springs, dampers, and “chassis control systems.” Everything else has been given minor tweaks, too, like the adaptive suspension, Servtronic steering, and rear differential. It’s even 0.2 inches lower than before. Track tires and “ultra track tires” are no-cost options.
Inside, the M2 CS looks a lot like the standard M2, just with a flat-bottomed steering wheel wrapped in Alcantara. It also maintains BMW M’s recent torture chamber seats (I actually like them, though I know most BMW fans don’t), and gets some “CS” badges throughout.
BMW has been saving its best for CS models, almost to the point of making them the real M cars. I’m hoping this new M2 CS has the same magic. Pricing starts at $99,775, which seems like a lot for an M2, but then again, the previous generation M2 CS started at $84,595. This one has significantly more power, more tech, and higher performance capabilities. But will it be more fun?
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Nico DeMattia is a staff writer at The Drive. He started writing about cars on his own blog to express his opinions when no one else would publish them back in 2015, and eventually turned it into a full-time career.