BMW’s First-Ever AWD M2 Has A Button That Makes It Rear-Drive Again

The M2 has spent the last few years quietly creeping up on its bigger sibling, narrowing the gap to the pricier M4 with each revision. Now there’s one more argument for going small. For the first time, BMW will sell the M2 with all-wheel drive. The updated 2027 car can be specified with M xDrive, routing power to all four corners instead of just the rears.

Mechanically, the xDrive cars carry over the familiar hardware. Under the hood sits BMW’s legendary S58, the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged straight-six that has earned its reputation. Tuning matches the facelifted M2 that arrived for 2025, which means 473 hp at 6,250 rpm and 443 lb-ft of torque from 2,700 to 5,620 rpm. That leaves it short of the M2 CS and its 523 hp and 479 lb-ft, as you would expect from the range-topper.

Read: BMW M Found A Way To Make The M3, M4, And M2 Greener Without Touching Power

Curiously, BMW hasn’t waited to introduce the all-wheel drive M2 with its updated S58 featuring the new M Ignite system, set to arrive later this year. This reworked version of the six-cylinder adds a pre-chamber ignition system, which is meant to cut fuel consumption at high revs without costing any power, and that is what lets the engine slip under Euro 7 emissions limits.

As with the M3 and M4’s all-wheel drive systems, the M2’s setup usually operates in rear-wheel drive mode, with the front wheels kicking in when maximum traction is needed. An electronically controlled multi-plate clutch in the transfer case handles that split, and the case runs its own control unit with integrated wheel slip limitation, so it can sort out speed differences between the axles without waking up the central DSC, which makes it react quicker. BMW’s Active M Differential is also fitted, varying power delivery from the rear wheels.

There’s also a rear-wheel drive-only mode, selected through the M Setup menu, which sends torque to the rear axle alone and deactivates DSC for that familiar M2 experience. A manual won’t be offered, and instead, BMW’s eight-speed Steptronic automatic is the only transmission option.

Three Tenths Quicker To 60

Thanks to the added grip, BMW says the M2 M xDrive can hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 3.6 seconds, or 0.3 seconds quicker than the standard rear-wheel drive model. The run to 124 mph (200 km/h) is also dealt with in a brisk 12.8 seconds, while the top speed is capped at 155 mph, but rises to 177 mph with the optional M Driver’s Package.

Factor in a one-foot rollout, the way American testing measures it, and BMW says the 0-60 mph time drops to 3.3 seconds with the 0-124 mph run falling to 12.5 seconds.

Borusan Turkish Blue And A Late-Summer Launch

Buyers will have eight colors to pick from, five metallics and three solids, and the M2 gets BMW Individual Borusan Turkish Blue for the first time.

American shoppers will be able to get their hands on the all-wheel drive BMW M2 from late summer, with prices starting at $73,600, excluding a $1,350 destination and handling fee. Production is scheduled to begin in August 2026 at BMW Group’s San Luis Potosí plant in Mexico, where all M2 variants are built.