BMW has resisted the temptation of going after Nürburgring lap records but that’s no longer the case as the M2 G87 is the new lord of the ‘Ring among compact cars. Riding on Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, the second-generation sports coupe equipped with the eight-speed automatic transmission was piloted by development engineer Jörg Weidinger.
A total of eight people were involved in the company’s efforts, including a four-man crew tasked to prepare the cars and tires. There were no fewer than three technical directors to make sure the vehicles were in optimal condition. BMW didn’t modify the cars to shave off precious seconds from the lap time as the M division points out the M2 used for the record-breaking attempt can be bought from the local dealer.
On a flying start on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring, the M2 completed the 20.8-kilometer (12.9-mile) course in 7 minutes and 38.706 seconds. For the slightly shorter 20.6-kilometer (12.8-mile) configuration typically used by automakers to set records, the baby M car took 7 minutes and 33.906 seconds. Consequently, it eclipsed hot hatches such as the Honda Civic Type R and the Renault Megane RS Trophy-R as well as the Audi RS3 Sedan.
Prior to the record-setting run, the M2 did a warmup lap on used prewarmed tires. Side note – the ideal temperature for the rubber used on most M cars is 70° Celsius (158° Fahrenheit), Jörg Weidinger only had three attempts to claim a new record, and there was an M3 Touring behind it serving as an rescue vehicle in case something went wrong.
It should be mentioned the M2 is not the fastest production BMW to go around the Green Hell as that title goes to the M4 CSL. However, we’re hearing there’s another, yet-to-be-released M car that has lapped the Nürburgring even faster, so watch this space for more details.
Come 2024, BMW should be able to improve the M2’s ‘Ring lap time with the CS, a hotter derivative expected to have over 500 horsepower.
Source: BMW M / YouTube
