BMW Replays a Greatest Hit: M2 CS Returns for 2026 With 523 Horsepower
Back in 2019, BMW dropped its first M2 CS, a compact coupe packing the engine from the larger M4 Competition. Built in a one-year run of 2,200 units, the 2020 CS was perhaps considered the modern BMW M car, the sort of hit that both brands and buyers want more of. Now, BMW has introduced the 2026 M2 CS, which still packs the engine from the larger M4 Competition — only this time, it’s the slightly more powerful engine from the all-wheel-drive M4 Competition xDrive.
Related: 2023 BMW M2 Review: Mmm Mmm Good (and Nearly Great)
What Performance Updates Does the 2026 M2 CS Have?
The 2026 M2 CS’s engine really just uses the engine tune from that M4, since both the M2 and the M4 use variations of the same turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder and BMW attributes the power increase over the standard M2 to “engine management.” Still, management changes result in 523 horsepower and 479 pounds-feet of torque directed exclusively to the rear wheels. Those are improvements of 50 hp and 36 pounds-feet compared to the regular M2 when it’s equipped with the optional automatic transmission. (Torque is limited to 406 pounds-feet with the manual.) Every 2026 M2 CS will have the eight-speed automatic.
BMW says the CS will accelerate from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds — 0.2 second quicker than the standard M2 — and hit a top speed of 188 mph when equipped with the M Driver’s Package, 11 mph faster than the regular M2.
Mass and Control
Power is only half of the M2 CS formula, however. The CS is also lighter than the regular M2, shaving 97 pounds through liberal use of carbon fiber for the roof, trunk lid, exclusive rear diffuser and interior trim. Stiffer engine mounts, a stance lowered by 0.2 inch, and unique tuning for the springs, adaptive dampers, steering and differential promise to sharpen the M2’s responses.
Much of the rest of the CS’s content is available on the regular M2 as options. That includes the heated carbon-fiber bucket seats with accommodations for multipoint harnesses and removable head restraints for helmet clearance, as well as the upgraded brakes with red calipers (carbon ceramics are an $8,500 option) and heated synthetic suede steering wheel. The matte-bronze wheels, measuring 19 inches up front and 20 in the rear, are exclusive to the CS, and BMW will offer two tiers of higher-performance track tires at no additional cost.
Release Date and Pricing
The 2026 BMW M2 CS will go on sale late this summer. BMW says it will be produced in limited numbers but has given no indication of how limited. Pricing starts at $99,775 (including the $1,175 destination charge), which is more than $30,000 over a base 2025 M2 but only around $16,000 more than an equivalently optioned car. Is that too much to ask for a sharper version of the best current M car — and likely one of the last with an internal-combustion engine? BMW will almost certainly find enough buyers who don’t think so.
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