2026 BMW M2 CS First Drive Review: Harder, Faster, Stronger... Better?

Hockley Valley, ON—One of the last things the BMW M2 needed was more power. And that’s especially true on days like today.

I’m behind the wheel of the 2026 BMW M2 CS, the only one in the country. It’s TestFest, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada’s (AJAC) yearly event, where auto journos from across the country descend upon Ontario’s Hockley Valley to test the best and brightest new vehicles to aid in the annual Canadian Car of the Year judging. It was so cold this morning that every car had a layer of frost on it. No pressure, then?

There’s nothing to worry about. While BMW’s latest Competition Sport model has more power, less weight, and still only drives the rear wheels, it also offers a level of transparency and feedback that makes it an easy car to trust on these slick roads.

The CS model itself, returning for the first time since 2020 and only the second time it has adorned the M2. The recipe is a familiar one at this point: take what used to be the top model in the lineup and tweak it further. Pump up the power, trim the fat, add some hardcore aero modifications, and limit production to a single year.

Unlike the last M2 CS—but like every other CS since—this one skips the manual transmission, making the eight-speed auto ‘box the only dance partner. While the M engineers have shaved nearly 100 pounds (45 kilograms) out of the M2, we’re still talking about a 3,770-pound nugget of a coupe.

Props to whoever at BMW fed the M2 after midnight. The little coupe has hardly been a looker this generation, but the CS leans into that pugnaciousness for an angry little gremlin of a car. That’s especially impressive since there really isn’t much different here: a more aggressive lower lip spoiler and a unique kidney grille insert are the only telltale signs up front. Very pretty bronze multi-spoke wheels fill the arches, but they’re no bigger than those on the regular M2: 19s up front and 20s out back, though they’re now wrapped in sticky Michelin Pilot Cup 2s, sized 275/35 at the front and 285/30 at the business end.

It’s around back where the CS gets its own flavor, with a big ducktail spoiler curving up between the taillights. It gives the little M2 mega presence from the rear three-quarters.

Codenamed S58, the 3.0-liter under the M2’s stubby hood has seen a healthy 50-pony bump, now totalling 523 horsepower. Torque peaks at a very healthy 479 pound-feet, and most of it is available across the rev range. These are the figures you can now see out of an M4 Competition xDrive, except the M2 still resolutely eschews all-paw grip for a more classic experience.

Power delivery is explosive. This being an M model there are myriad settings to alter to tone down the aggression… but why would you do that? We were given strict instructions to keep the digital nannies active—only example in the country and all that—but they never seemed overburdened by the extra power. As ever with modern BMW turbo engines, the official figures feel like the starting point; it would not surprise me in the least to find the CS does the dash to 62 mph (100 km/h) quicker than the quoted 3.8 seconds.

Do I miss the manual? Not really. The CS attitude is all ruthless aggression and stopwatch accuracy, and the ZF-sourced ‘box is more than capable of picking the correct gear for the task at hand and sticking to it. Shifts are snappy whether or not the paddles are part of the equation.

Through a short autocross course the M2 CS is brutally effective. Forget that seemingly porky curb weight: this thing changes direction like a hummingbird, darting from point to point with an immediacy that initially startles. Get more heat in the prodigious rubber and the effect only intensifies. Rumors persist that the M2 will get xDrive, but I really can’t see the reason when this rear-drive setup is so entertainingly pointy and secure already.

Subtlety is rarely on the menu, however. Out on the road the CS is just as effective, but it doesn’t converse with the driver, it talks at them. Sure, one learns to trust the helm, to lean on the incredible grip the Cup 2s generate even in sub-optimal temps, but there’s precious little feedback about how much grip is left, or even camber changes. Like most M models, the sportier drive modes introduce an artificial resistance to the steering, so the lighter settings remain the best.

Stopping power from the optional carbon ceramic brakes is serious, with not even a hint of fade. There’s good feel from the pedal too, making them easy to modulate.

There are certain expectations of a car with the genetic makeup of the M2. A short wheelbase, stiffened suspension, and a driving position closer to the rear axle than the front suggests a certain hang-on-and-hope approach.

This was an admittedly brief test, but the CS proved almost friendly in its ride quality. There’s a definite edge here, an all-encompassing sense that the M2 wants to be let off the leash. Yet encounter a mid-corner bump or roll across a rougher surface and the coupe remains composed and predictable, breathing with the road in a way that’s basically diametrically opposed to something like an X6 M. Even the M4 CS I drove earlier this summer didn’t feel quite so friendly.

I still have a love/hate relationship with BMW’s silly thigh-spreader sport seats. My driving position means I need to move them every time, and passengers will always grumble about them, but once installed within their aggressive bolstering, I’m as comfy and supported as can be. And you know what? The back seat is actually totally tolerable for adults, too.

This generation of M2 didn’t make the strongest first impression. BMW has steadily refined the lil’ coupe over the ensuing years, and the CS is a worthy culmination of that work. Under those mean looks is a friendly overachiever of a car, one as capable at embarrassing everything at the local track day as it is dissecting your favorite backroad. It’s not the last word on delicacy, but I suspect every single owner will be too busy grinning to care.

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