BMW M240i xDrive Coupé: Dirty Harry

You can’t quite get out of your skin at BMW. And that’s good. Although the BMW 1 Series has front-wheel drive, the Munich-based company still indulges in rear-wheel drive with the 2 Series Coupé, which used to be the dynamic unique selling point of the BMW models in the compact class. That is why the BMW 2 Series, like the 3 Series and 4 Series, is on the CLAR platform and not on the UKL platform like the current 1 Series brothers. This also affects the look. Even when stationary, the new 2 Series Coupé conveys dynamism. With a height of 1.40 meters, it is around 2.8 centimeters lower, at 1.84 meters it is 6.4 centimeters wider than its predecessor and at 4.55 meters it is 10.5 centimeters longer than before.

The designers also opted for a classic solution for the kidney. Yes, you like to get into this BMW. The fact that the sporty, handsome sheet metal garment with a Cd value of 0.26 undercuts its predecessor by 0.02 points increases the joy even more. A whole range of measures contribute to this value: including a ten-stage air flap control in the kidney and the air inlet below the front apron. There are also “air resistance classics” such as air curtains, flush recessed door handles, an almost complete covering of the underbody and a Gurney Flap at the rear. It also helps with downforce. Overall, the new BMW 2 Series Coupé generates around 50 percent less lift than before. That is a good thing. Because with 275 kW / 374 PS, the BMW M240i xDrive is more powerful than the still current M2.

For some, the 2 Series Coupé is the symbiosis between driving fun and suitability for everyday use, for others it is simply a vehicle with which one can have uncomplicated fun. That is why a sports suspension is installed as standard, with which the developers of the vote have given the telling nickname “Dirty Harry”. As a reminder, this is the tough film cop Harry Callahan from San Francisco, who goes on the hunt for criminals with a huge Smith and Wesson Revolver Model 29 (caliber 44 / Magnum) and is played by Clint Eastwood. Those who do not want to constantly face the bad guys in such uncompromising way can get adaptive dampers in the car. “The regulated chassis is a conflict solver,” says driving dynamics expert Claus Dieter Groll. At BMW, the driving modes are now a little science in their own right that people enjoy working with, as there are a whole host of setting options. So you can configure the BMW M240i xDrive according to your own preferences. It should be clear that such a car with 374 hp and the obligation to lateral dynamics is not an ultra-comfortable waterbed. But even in the sports drive program, the 2 Series does not rumble mercilessly over the uneven ground.

The ingredients of an M-vehicle are already on board: rear differential, rear-heavy four-wheel drive, four-piston brakes at the front and mixed tires for the 19 inch tires with 225 front and 255 rear. In addition, there is everything that the 2 Series Coupé already brings with it: a body that is twelve percent stiffer and a matching track that is 52 millimeters wider at the front and 31 millimeters wider at the rear. Similar to the BMW 4 Series, the technicians have installed stiffeners in the front of the car and in the underbody with V-shaped struts. In addition, there are stiffer sockets on the rear axle carrier and an increased negative camber on the front axle. All of this helps with agility. The improvements are already noticeable when turning into the vehicle. The front end of the car remains stable even when it is fast. In the curve, the wheelbase, which has grown by five centimeters, and the almost equal axle load distribution give sovereignty, and in tight bends the rear axle is eagerly involved in cornering without, however, presenting the driver with unsolvable tasks. On the contrary. The BMW M240i xDrive is equally fun on country roads and narrow serpentines.

Due to the lower roof line, the seating position is a bit high for people taller than 1.85 meters, but that doesn’t seem too annoying in the long run. The steering wheel rim in this BMW M model does not go below a good white sausage thickness, but the steering itself could be more communicative. A highlight is the forced-ventilation in-line six-cylinder, in which the turbo lag has been minimized despite the increasingly stringent emission standards. “We have invested a lot in the engine,” explains technician Hartmut Pfleger. The work pays off. In the sporty driving programs in particular, the engine, in conjunction with the eight-speed automatic, reacts quickly to the driver’s accelerator pedal requests. The BMW M240i xDrive can get from a standstill to a country road in just 4.3 seconds and can reach speeds of up to 250 km / h. In terms of fuel consumption, BMW states 8.8 l / 100 km, we came to 11.9 l / 100 km on our test drive, but were encouraged to downshift from the sonorous sound of the engine. Anyone who has now got a taste for it should have at least 56,000 euros ready by the spring of next year.