It’s hard to top today’s BMW 2 Series, particularly the M2 and M2 Competition, in terms of purist driving fun wrapped in a premium package. But leave it to BMW to believe it can do even better. Australian website Motoring.au recently caught up with BMW development chief Klaus Frohlich, who has already gone on record to state the next 2 Series (which won't be cancelled now) will retain its rear-wheel-drive setup. This time, however, Frohlich couldn’t help but brag a bit regarding what’s in store for the next 2 Series.
“The next-generation 2 Series will be called the drift machine, so whenever I look at the design I can say ‘Adrian (van Hooydonk, BMW design chief), does that really look like a drift machine? It should have more thrill, do something more’. The focus of that quote should be “drift machine.”
Frohlich also wants designers to understand that as well because the car, obviously, has to look the part. But what’s really important to note is that Frohlich is a true car guy. In fact, he won the battle to make the next 2 Series, due in the early 2020s, RWD instead of switching to a front-wheel-drive setup. “So I fought hard and I won, so you will have also a 2 Series successor that will have the power where you need it,” he said. “People asked ‘does it (rear-wheel drive) really matter because the segment is too small?’ and I think it is so important for the brand and it’s so important for M, because the M2 is the entry model.”
Frohlich, as it turns out, likes to give other BMW models appropriate nicknames. For example, he likes to call the all-new X5 ‘The Boss’ and the upcoming X6 ‘The Beast.’
“By this approach, even if you are using the same toolboxes, every car has to have a different character,” he said. Considering the rave reviews the new M2 Competition has earned for itself, it doesn’t sound like it will be easy to top that overall driving (and drifting) experience. BMW’s driving obsessed engineers have a huge task ahead of them, but we're sure they're up to the challenge.
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