Munich - Hot on the heels of the facelifted BMW 3 Series that was revealed this week, the German carmaker has also given some love and attention to its 2 Series Coupe.
For starters BMW has announced two new engine derivatives for its compact two-door, although keep in mind that neither of these has been confirmed for South Africa as yet.
At the pinnacle of the range the all-wheel-driven M240i xDrive Coupe is now being joined by a rear-wheel drive derivative. Although it boasts the same 3.0-litre straight-six engine as its xDrive counterpart, which produces 285kW, the rear-driven M240i has been detuned to 275kW.
However despite losing a few ponies and two wheels’ worth of traction, the BMW M240i is still impressively quick off the mark, sprinting from 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.7 seconds, which is only 0.4s slower than the AWD model.
At the same time BMW is also launching a rear-wheel drive version of the 4 Series Gran Coupe, featuring the same 275kW engine. A 3.0-litre diesel is also set to join the GC range.
At the other end of the spectrum, BMW has announced the 218i Coupe as a new entry-level model slotting beneath the current 220i. It still has the same 2.0-litre turbopetrol engine, but detuned to 115kW and 250Nm. As with the 220i, power goes to the back wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox, and according to BMW the newcomer will sprint from 0-100km/h in 8.7 seconds.
Curved Display now standard
BMW’s Operating System 8, with its huge curved screen layout, will be standard fitment on 2 Series Coupe models from July 2022 production. The same upgrade is also being applied to the pre-facelift M3 sedan, BMW says.
The Curved Display combines a 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system and 12.3-inch digital instrument display into a single glass surface that’s curved towards the driver.
Along with the company’s latest operating system also comes improvements to the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant as well as the BMW Maps navigation system.
Stay tuned for more local information on the revised BMW 2 Series Coupe when it becomes available.