Smallest of the Bimmers Gets a Power Boost

2017 BMW M2 (Credit: © BMW)

Some BMW fans call the 2 Series the last of the true Bimmers as the brand has strayed far from its roots of delivering lightweight luxury cars with outrageous tossability and moved toward bulky land yachts that only handle well because of all the nannies keeping things electronically in check. Today, BMW has announced the updated 2 Series lineup, introducing new nomenclature and a power boost.

Currently, the 2 Series’ main models include the 228i and the M235i, but starting in 2017, the lineup will consist of the 230i and the M240i. With these new names also come decent power gains, as the 230i, which replaces the 228i, uses squeezes 248 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and the M240i pounds out 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. These numbers make the 230i 8 horsepower and 3 pound-feet more potent than the 228i, and the M240i more powerful than the M235i by 15 horsepower and a whopping 39 pound-feet of torque.

The gear-swapping duties are handled by the latest-generation eight-speed Steptronic auto transmission as standard or the no-cost optional six-speed manual in the M240i models. Unfortunately, BMW made no mention of the transmission options for the 230i models.

BMW didn’t get into the performance numbers for the new 230i, but those small output boosts likely had no impact on this. As for the M240i, BMW claims the coupe shaves 0.2 seconds off the M235i’s 0-to-60 time, putting the manual-equipped model at 4.6 seconds, the auto-equipped model at 4.4 seconds, and the all-wheel-drive model at 4.2 seconds. With the drop top, the extra power drops the sprint time by 0.3 seconds, putting the manual-equipped model at 4.7 seconds, the auto-equipped model at 4.5 seconds, and the all-wheel-drive version at 4.4 seconds.

Pricing isn’t available just yet, but we should learn more on that as we near the 2017 BMW 2 Series’ launch in the summer of 2016.