2025 BMW M2 First Test: The Performance Vehicle of the Year Remains a Stone-Cold Killer

We’ve raved about the G87-generation BMW M2 from the first time we tested the eight-speed automatic model, and our platitudes continued through our subsequent test of the manual-equipped version. If that weren’t enough, we then named it our 2024 MotorTrend Performance Vehicle of the Year, a monster of a win that led to us now taking delivery of a 2025 BMW M2 as one of the newest members of our long-term test fleet.

The latter car is the one we shook down for this report—and we’ve already published its performance numbers in our long-term Arrival story linked directly above. We’re calling out those numbers here again with a bit more context, but if you haven’t paid close attention lately to all things M2, you might wonder why we even bothered testing our long-termer at all, given the sheer amount of virtual ink we’ve expended on it to date. It’s a fair question, and the answer is simple: BMW gave its hot-rod DTM-style coupe a slight performance boost for 2025, and we wanted to understand what that boost yielded in raw numbers versus the other M2s we’ve tested.

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What’s New

We’re not talking about a massive upgrade here, but the 2025 BMW M2’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo I-6 now matches that of its M3 and M4 stablemates. This means the engine’s peak horsepower has risen 20 hp to 473 hp and its torque bumped 37 lb-ft in eight-speed automatic-equipped models to 443 lb-ft. We’re still suckers for manual gearboxes, though, so we selected the six-speed, shift-it-ourselves transmission for our long-term test car, the torque figure of which remains unchanged from the M2s we tested previously at 406 lb-ft.

There are other non-performance changes for 2025 that we also outlined in our M2 Arrival breakdown, so check it out if you haven’t already. For the record (not that it’s particularly relevant in terms of our standard testing regimen), we ticked the box for the M Driver’s package ($2,500 worth of our car’s current $77,925 out-the-door price), a choice that raises the 2025 BMW M2’s electronically limited top speed by 22 mph, to 177 mph. This option also gives you a track-day experience at a BMW Performance Center.

Acceleration Testing

Our 2025 BMW M2 long-termer accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and covered the standing quarter mile in 12.3 seconds at 118.5 mph. Compared to the M2s we previously tested, the eight-speed auto-equipped versions recorded 3.5 and 3.6 seconds to 60 and blew through the quarter in 11.8 seconds at 120.2 and 120.3 mph. That’s a notable difference, but the real apples-to-apples is versus the 2023 manual M2 we ran through our gauntlet before, which hit 60 in 3.8 seconds (0.2 second quicker) while completing the quarter in 12.2 at 118.7 mph (0.1 second quicker and 0.2 mph faster).

In other words, on the dragstrip our long-term M2 might benefit more from the additional torque offered in the 2025 automatic version. That said, our test results demonstrate the consistency of BMW’s powertrain builds, as the fractional deficits this car exhibited compared to our earlier test of a manual M2 are reasonably ascribed to varying external conditions on any given day and/or driver reactions.

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Braking and Handling

Our 2025 BMW M2 stopped from 60 mph in 101 feet, the exact same as the 2023 manual M2 we tested a little more than a year and half ago. The automatic M2s we tested beat that distance by 1 foot, further demonstrating the M2’s performance consistency. In a real-world crash situation, a single foot might be the difference between kissing the bumper of the car in front of you—or worse, a pedestrian—and missing them entirely. So it’s a relevant difference to note, but again such a small variance is fairly put down to differences in road/test-track grip levels. Regardless, the M2 brakes are phenomenal to use, with an amount of pedal travel that’s neither too short nor too long, making it easy, fun, and satisfying for drivers to modulate brake pressure and performance with a precise level of control.

We feel like we’re stuck on repeat here, so apologies, but the tale continues in the same vein when it comes to handling and grip. The 2025 manual M2 pulled an average of 1.02 g on our skidpad—yes, you guessed it, the exact same as the 2023 M2 manual and a mere 0.02 g shy of the automatics we tested not long ago.

On our figure-eight course, the latest car posted a lap time of 23.4 seconds at an average g of 0.85, finally besting the original manual version of this M2 generation, which put down a slower lap of 24.1 seconds at an identical g average of 0.85. Seven-tenths of a second is significant over such a short lap if you’re racing someone, but since conditions again come into play easily and the figure eight isn’t a high-speed event, we hesitate to suggest perhaps the slightly punchier peak engine power deserves total credit, but it could be a factor. It’s such a close margin; we could also put it down to our own driving on the day.

Meanwhile, the automatic M2s delivered figure-eight numbers of 23.2 seconds at 0.89 g, and 23.5 seconds at 0.86 g. Despite being approximately 100 pounds heavier than our new long-term car, the automatic’s more advantageous gearing and lightning-quick shifts clearly give them an advantage, but ultimately this slightly more powerful manual-’box car beat one of them by a tenth of a second and only trailed the other by two-tenths. So call it a veritable draw. Again.

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So What?

If you read this test report hoping or expecting the 2025 BMW M2 to come in as a big upgrade compared to the first version, don’t be disappointed. More horsepower is never enough in a performance car like this, and the car was so good already, even this slight upward punch is nothing but a bonus. On a fast road course with long straight sections, the additional shove might be more obvious and show itself more on the stopwatch than it does in our specific battery of tests.

Regardless, the M2 remains a driver’s delight, to put it mildly. It gives you confidence galore with its wheel in your hands and its pedals under your feet, letting you feel immediately what the chassis and tires are doing. The shifter, though rubbery in its action—much like all modern BMW manuals—is accurate enough through its gates. The brakes are so easy to predict and modulate just under the ABS threshold, a place where you want to live when gunning for quick laps, you feel close to invincible. Corner turn-in during the car’s dynamic weight transfer is sharp and spot on. The auto-blip throttle control works beautifully for downshifts. There’s a container ship cargo hold’s worth of grip, and the M Sport Differential does a great job of putting the power where it ought to go on corner exits so that a big tail-wagging slide isn’t inevitable (though it’s there for the taking if that’s your bag). The 2025 BMW M2 remains one of the most satisfying new-from-the-dealer driver’s cars available and is still nothing but a mega-winner in our book.

Now we just need to test an automatic-equipped 2025 car to find out if its extra torque makes even more of a difference in the shit-eating grin category. Either way, from what we know of the M2 based on previous experiences, we expect our year with this manual model to be an adrenaline-filled ride—and one that’s likely to feel as though it ended far too quickly when time comes to hand the keys back to BMW.