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Four-wheel drive. One seriously rapid little M2. BMW has handed its retro-styled M2 Turbo Edition a new all-wheel-drive xDrive version, and it launches even harder than the original. The catch is pure geography, because this sharper weapon heads only to India. American enthusiasts, who got the first batch, are left watching enviously from the sidelines.
The Turbo Edition salutes the 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo, the first European production car to wear a turbocharger. It looks the part, too. Alpine White is the only paint, slashed with hand-painted M stripes and crowned by a black power dome on the bonnet. The turbo script runs in reverse, so it reads correctly in a rear-view mirror. A carbon-fibre roof and spoiler add attitude, while optional gold-bronze forged wheels fill the arches.
Under that bonnet sits BMW’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six, pumping out 480hp. Torque climbs by 37lb-ft to 442lb-ft, a boost every automatic M2 now enjoys. The xDrive car pairs that muscle with a quicker-shifting eight-speed automatic. Traction does the rest. It storms from rest to 62mph in just 3.7 seconds, leaving the rear-driven manual sold in the States behind.
Step inside and the motorsport mood never lets up. Carbon-fibre bucket seats clamp you firmly in place, while an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel fills your hands. A historic turbo badge even graces the cupholder cover. Pure race-car theatre. Spotting the xDrive car is far harder, because only the missing clutch pedal and six-speed gear lever give it away.
The original Turbo Edition was built for America in a run of just a few hundred, with 30 more later heading to Mexico. India now gets the all-wheel-drive twist, though BMW has not said how many will arrive. That leaves fans in snowy US states with a fair grievance. They got the purist’s manual. India got the grip, the pace and the last laugh.
