The first week of April this year, I traveled to North Carolina to join RS Xperience for the Spring Mountain Rally through the Great Smoky Mountains. RS Xperience founder Andy Papa originally invited me to join one of his curated rallies earlier this year and even loaned me his 2020 BMW M2 CS, a pandemic purchase daily driver, for the duration of the trip. The plan included two days of exciting roads, with famous names like Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway.
With a good-old-fashioned six-speed stick shift, a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, and a laundry list of enhancements compared to the "regular" M2 Competition, the CS prioritizes nimble handling and driving dynamics over straight-line speed—even with 444 horsepower on tap. Among a crew of lightweight mid-engined cars, I found myself grateful for the opportunity to push this swansong to BMW's glory years through some of the most famous winding roads of North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.
The One-Year-Only BMW M2 CS
Sold in America for only one year, the M2 CS builds upon the 2 Series platform with just about every enhancement BMW offers. Front and center, the twin-scroll-turbocharged S55 straight-six cranks out the aforementioned 444 horses, but also a prodigious peak torque rating of 406 lb-ft. Routing that grunt to the ground, the six-speed gearbox features tight ratios in first and second, while an electronically controlled limited-slip differential allows for plenty of pop off the line.
BMW M2 CS
- Engine/Motor: Turbocharged 3.0-liter S55 Straight-Six
- Horsepower: 444 hp
- Torque: 406 lb-ft
- Drivetrain: RWD
- Transmission: 6-speed manual
- Smallest of the big BMWs
- Torquey, smooth, and powerful inline-six
- Spacious interior for a coupe
- Lots of carbon-fiber goodies
- Carbon ceramics bite hard at speed
- Borderline hefty at 3,489 pounds
- Strangely thick steering wheel rim
- Unpredictable braking at low speeds
Compared to the M2 Competition, the CS adds adjustable drive modes for the shocks, steering weight, throttle response, and exhaust note. And Papa optioned his car with carbon-ceramic brakes to help with the standard weight savings provided by a carbon-fiber hood and roof. All in, the M2 CS equipped with the six-speed, as opposed to the optional seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, tips the scales at 3,489 pounds—not exactly svelte, but far lighter than, for example, an M8 Competition, which can balloon up to and past 4,500 pounds with ease.
In fact, Papa told me his M2 CS spec sheet only offered four options: the carbon ceramics, paint color, wheel color, and the DCT. I think he chose perfectly to help reduce perceived heft with a white body, plus the light-gold wheels, and a biting brake upgrade. His car serves as a daily driver, but given that his track training tool and rally lead-follow Porsche GT3 RS came with a PDK, I appreciated the choice to go with the clutch pedal all the more.
Chasing Mid-Engined Cars
On paper, his M2 CS definitely seems outclassed by the other mid-engined cars that joined on our adventure. I expected to see a GT3 RS but instead, Papa surprised me by rolling up in a new-to-him 2020 McLaren 600LT Spider, which he purchased after one of his clients based in Atlanta drove a similar car on a rally last year. Goodbye GT3, it seems. That same client-turned-friend decided to bring his 718 Boxster Spyder on the Spring Mountain Rally, though, after looking at the ominous weather forecast for the duration of the trip. Two other enthusiasts drove in from the eastern side of North Carolina in two more Porsches: a Cayman GT4 and a 2018 Boxster GTS—both equipped with PDK transaxles, the latter a 2018 model year with the turbo-four rather than the newer 4.0 variant.
Power and weight ratios for our group ranged all over the map. The McLaren tips the scales just over 3,000 pounds with a twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8 producing 592 horsepower. The Boxster Spyder owner bolted an aftermarket exhaust setup onto the 4.0-liter flat-six and then had the ECU flashed to somewhere in the warranty-acceptable 460-horse range. The GT4 and GTS arrived in stock form, translating to 414 and 365 ponies, respectively, in cars weighing 3,247 and 3,097 pounds. Everyone but the M2, however, benefited from the advantages of mid-engine weight distribution.
A Small But Spacious Interior
Unlike the four other two-seaters, the M2 gave me plenty of space to stretch out over the course of two long driving days. Small for a BMW but big for a coupe, the interior features plenty of carbon-fiber trim, Alcantara for the steering wheel and shift knob, and a roomy backseat to hold my film equipment. That steering wheel provided pretty positive feedback for an electric-assist system, though, while the clutch pedal weight felt substantial enough and engagement significant enough for spirited driving. And it also has a full-sized trunk!
Picking nits, I found the steering wheel rim a bit too thick and the ZHP-style shift knob a bit springy—otherwise, the expanded headroom of a slicktop, ample seat adjustments, and a spacious pedal box provided a perfect seating position for both slower segments on the highway and tighter portions of the technical terrain. Given this exact car, I figure a short-shift kit and a new steering wheel would make it just about perfect for me, though Papa's addition of grippy aftermarket pedals helped a lot, too.
On The Tail Of The Dragon
After a bit of a warmup loop that allowed us to acclimate to our cars, assess the road conditions, and capture a few photos, Papa led us straight to the Tail of the Dragon. Famous for a whopping 318 turns over 11 miles of road, Highway 129 (the road's official designation) draws thousands of visitors a year to experience the fun roads and the stunning scenery (which also includes incredible cars around every bend). As our lodge host explained, a series of expanding and retreating glaciers during the last ice age brought seeds from all over North America to the Smoky Mountains, resulting in a stunning range of foliage just beginning to show new green growth in early April.
Later in the year, the Tail of the Dragon apparently transforms into a blanketed green tunnel, so we thanked our lucky stars for Papa's planning, which allowed us to see through the sparse tree trunks and keep our vision focused on the turns ahead. After shifting and downshifting repeatedly between second and third, I eventually settled into a rhythm, winding the S55 out near to redline on the straights and trying to keep the tail end from squiggling on me coming out of corners. BMW nailed traction control programming on the CS, allowing for a bit of controllable oversteer and tire squeal before killing the throttle.
Staying in control on the Tail of the Dragon requires immense focus, both because of the many turns but also the road's tourist status, which attracts clubs like the huge group of Golf GTI, R, and even Audi TTs we crossed paths with numerous times. Local law enforcement, both on the Tennessee and North Carolina sides, will apparently pull over cars that merely cross over the centerline, even while below the speed limit, in the hopes of keeping everyone safe. And a certain etiquette emerges among the enthusiasts, who give each other space, pull over for faster drivers, and signal oncoming traffic to reveal police hidden up ahead.
Little Modifications For The M2 CS
Since acquiring his new daily midway through the pandemic, Papa added a few modifications to personalize an already rare car. A mid-pipe from Active Autowerke and a high-flow setup from Remus with carbon tips give the little coupe a hotted-up snarl. And he also replaced some of the decals, aero trim, and side skirts with carbon fiber to match the hood, roof, interior, and engine bay goodies. The combo looks great, sounds great, and might even reduce a bit of weight (probably in the region of grams).
Strange Shortcomings
No car is perfect, though, and the M2 CS exhibited a few strange shortcomings that perhaps reveal more of BMW's steady decline. The carbon ceramics, while excellent at speed, displayed a touchy tendency below about 50 miles per hour. Maybe something with the brake booster and turbo-vacuum system leads to too much bite at times, but I found the unpredictable sensation more than a little jarring. And for a car this powerful, as well as this heavy, Michelin Pilot Super Sports measuring only 245 millimeters at the front and 265 out back felt vastly insufficient. I never pushed the car all the way to ten-tenths but at nine-tenths, running with mid-engined Porsches and a legit supercar would have been much easier with more substantial shoes on.
By the end of our second day, after experiencing the M2's performance in variable conditions ranging from dry and sunny to damp and rainy, plus some light snow, I definitely felt the old Bimmer magic shining through from my first car, an E46, all the way back to an E36 that I drive semi-regularly. But then Papa let me hop behind the wheel of his 600LT for a quick session and all other cars began fading into obscurity immediately.
With perfect steering, a telepathic transmission, and suspension that somehow gobbles up bumps without producing either numbness or body roll, the 600LT revealed Papa's patience as a driving instructor and leader of the Spring Mountain Rally, since only a single mash of the throttle at casual McLaren speeds would have left us all in the dust on the Tail of the Dragon.
Sources: youtube.com, tailofthedragon.com, rsxperience.com, activeautowerke.com, and remususa.com.