Autocar 18/04/2018

THE BREADTH OF ability displayed by the new BMW M5 (p32) is astonishing. Its complicated configurable driving modes and the dramatic alteration in character between them won’t be for all, but with them M has created a car that can be a sideways rear-wheel-drive hot rod one moment and a comfortable all-weather continent-crusher the next. All this technology, including the two extra driven wheels, results in a car that is still 15kg lighter than the one it replaces. That’s progress. There will be those craving something simpler, more straightforward, more like things used to be. And M has the answer for them too: the new BMW M2 (p6), which mixes what is perhaps the world’s finest front-engined, rear-drive compact car chassis with the engine of the larger M3 and M4, to create…

“The new 404bhp engine enables a sharper 0-62mph time of 4.2sec with the optional dual-clutch ’box” BMW’s M division has ramped up the performance potential of the M2 with the introduction of a heavily upgraded version of the rear-wheel-drive coupé. The 2018 model, which is called the M2 Competition, replaces the standard M2. It packs a new 404bhp version of the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine that powers the M3 and M4. This enables a sharper 0-62mph time of 4.2sec in combination with an optional seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The top speed is governed at 155mph. The new M2 has been conceived to enhance the standing of the two-year-old performance coupé against rivals such as the Porsche Cayman GTS and Audi TT RS. As a result, the M2 Competition not only receives an injection of…

The new M2 Competition takes the hot BMW coupé on to a higher performance plane than the original M2, launched in 2016. But it’s not the definitive upgrade for the M2. An even hotter M2 CSL is already under development for a 2021 launch. The M2 CSL is part of a plan instigated by BMW M division boss Frank van Meel to better leverage the sales potential of M models throughout their entire model cycle. The M2 CSL will receive similar modifications to those made on the recently introduced M3 CS and year-old M4 CS. The track-focused model will get an enhanced aerodynamic package offering greater downforce as well as a pared-down cabin, among other changes. Its launch in 2021 will be 18 months before the end of the model cycle for the…

You know how a BMW M Competition works. They launch the car, we love it but there’s a slight disconnect between how focused we think an M car should be and what BMW thinks it should be. The Competition version duly arrives later and bridges that gap. The M2 never felt like it was that far away from being all it could be though. But that hasn’t prevented BMW from making a host of changes to it anyway. The power increase isn’t such a biggie – it had plenty before and retains it now – but the chassis changes will be interesting. It wasn’t like the M2 lacked engagement before. That customers want that kind of hardcore reward from a small car like the M2 is presumably why this Competition version can…

THE NEW VAUXHALL Corsa “will not be compromised in any way” despite being developed in less than two years by PSA Group after a signed-off design based on previous owner GM’s architecture was axed. A revised Corsa was set to be launched this year, sitting on a modified version of GM’s Astra platform. However, PSA took the decision to re-engineer the car on its own small car platform, called EMP1, as it took control of the company, to save on licence costs to GM. As such, the new Corsa will be launched in 2019, and will share its underpinnings with rivals including the Peugeot 208 and Citroën C3. However, global Opel and Vauxhall boss Michael Lohscheller insisted that the compressed development time would not be a hindrance to the car’s success. “It is…

Alfa Romeo is expected to announce a new range of performance hybrid models, as well as a new large SUV, in June. The plans will be announced at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Balocco test track by Sergio Marchionne, 14 years to the day after he became FCA’s boss. Besides the new SUV, a vital model for Alfa’s US ambitions, Marchionne is expected to detail plans for a Giulia coupé, as exclusively revealed by Autocar (28 February). The Giulia coupé will be offered with high-performance hybrid drivetrains as well as the conventional engine options provided by the Giulia saloon on which it is based. The large SUV will be offered with a mild hybrid and an electric turbo using a 48V electrical system. These power boosters will be sufficient to overcome the additional 200kg the…