Want a BMW M2 CS? Of course you do. But tough luck. Even if you have the required £75,320 handy, all UK examples are spoken for, and we suspect it’s the same in other markets too (we’re waiting to hear back from BMW for confirmation).
Thankfully, the M2 Competition is already stonkingly good, and if you give Lightweight Performance a call, you’ll be able to make it more like the CS. As for what the German company will do to achieve this, the clue is in its name – it’s all about “implementing the [E46 M3] CSL genes” by trimming the Comp’s fat.
Like the CS and the old M3 CSL, Lightweight’s creation gets a carbon roof, shedding 6.5kg and lowering the centre of gravity. The 19-inch wheels meanwhile weigh 9.2kg apiece, dropping a total of 12kg of unsprung mass across the whole set.
There’s an OPF exhaust system, which improves the soundtrack while shedding a further 7kg. The new aero parts will increase weight, of course, but not too much – they’re all made from carbon fibre.
A lower weight figure will make the LP M2 a lot handier in the corners, helped further by a set of Bilstein Clubsport dampers. It’ll be quicker on the straights, too, with the S55 twin-turbo inline-six boosted from 404bhp and 406lb ft of torque to 487bhp and 482lb ft. With the extra grunt and removal of the electronic top speed limiter, the top speed is now 188mph.
All of this adds up to a car that’s rather brisk around a track. Via German publication Auto Bild, the Lightweight Performance M2 Competition clocked a 1:31.16 lap at the Sachsenring, compared to 1:34.97 for the CS.
The starting price for the Lightweight package is €20,000 (around £17,500), which – with earlier M2 Comps now going for well under £40,000 – sounds rather tempting.
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