BMW’s final salute to pure combustion serves up hot – with even more of a sizzler said to be in the wings.

ARRIVAL in the early part of next year, with local pricing and specification being announced next month; that’s the local market forecast for BMW’s last pitch in the fully petrol ballpark, the new M2.

Actually, best qualify that comment … this rear-drive six-cylinder pocket rocket is the last M Division performance car BMW intends to send out with nothing but a combustion engine to motivate it. But the version announced internationally yesterday, and confirmed today for NZ availability, won’t stand alone.

At least one fruitier version is also being cooked up, serving as early as next year. That’s the M2 CSL, expected to have at least 375kW - as much power as the current M3.  

Thus equipped, this could make it one of the fastest-accelerating M-cars of all time. And also the most feral. It’ll have even more of a track focus in respect to weight saving, suspension tune and tyre choice than the standard car.

That’ll doubtless be of high interest here, as our country is one of the strongest markets in the world for BMW M, with one in five BMW models sold here wearing an M badge.

The ‘first course’ M2 is pretty serious already, of course. Under the bonnet is more or less the same twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine used by the M3 and M4 and though detuned in first-up state, it still packs 338kW at 6250rpm and 550Nm of torque and assures 0-100kmh in 4.1 seconds.

That’s with the eight-speed M Steptronic automatic gearbox. The M2 will also avail with a six-speed manual, which has a Gear Shift Assistant to rev-match the engine in downchanges. An option also being offered Kiwis, the manual car is 0.2s slower to the legal highway limit from a standing start.

Either way, power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels. There will never be an xDrive all-wheel-drive version. It has the usual Active M differential and uses the same chassis technology as the M3 and M4. Even the same track widths front and rear as the latter.

Adaptive damping is a new delivery for M2. There are three different baseline settings, plus M Servotronic steering that pairs speed-sensitive assistance with a variable-ratio steering rack.

The driver can choose two distinct levels for the steering, two different brake pedal feel settings from the 'integrated' braking system and 10 different stages of rear-wheel slip from the M Traction Control feature, included as part of the M Drive Professional system. On top of this, a driver can alter the torque curve from the engine and its response to the accelerator and mess with the autos shift sharpness. Also, instrumentation and driver assistance can be tailored.

Styling-wise, the car announces stridently. Sure, there’s going to be the usual debate about the frontal look – it’s more bluff than the donor car’s (and a bit ‘Dodge-y’ too) -  but there’s no chance of it being mistaken form the mistaken for the M240i BMW NZ already has in sales circulation.

Bulging wheelarches, M-specific door mirrors, a carbon fibre roof and, of course, a quad-exhaust setup at the back are among M2 specific design characteristics.

Mixed-size tyres and wheels are also part of the package for the first time, with 19-inch rims up front and 20-inch wheels on the back axle, wearing 275/35 ZR19 and 285/30 ZR20 tyres, respectively.

Fitment of sports chairs doubtless reduce rear seat space in what it already a cosy cabin, but it retains the four-seat layout.

The M2 achieves BMW's Curved Display dashboard, incorporating digital instrumentation, a large (14.9-inch) central touchscreen and BMW Live Cockpit Professional, built on BMW Operating System 8. Within that are many M2-specific menu items, including a drift analyser.

Other M signifiers include M1/M2 driving settings buttons, a red engine start-stop button, carbon-fibre trim and the front chairs; the standard types are deeply bolstered, have an illuminated M logo, integrated headrests, heating and electrical adjustment but the optional ‘M Carbon bucket seats’ seem more special still. They also cut about 11kg from the car’s weight, despite retaining heating and electric adjustment.

The performance focus doesn’t keep the M2 from achieving luxury touches like three-zone climate control, a fantastic infotainment system and a wealth of active safety