BMW M2 2016 News

Waiting for a new car is never easy. It could be a week or it could be a year — even longer — but a delivery hold-up still means delayed satisfaction.

Six months in, the Car of the Year field starts to take shape... and there are still some tasty prospects.

Driving enthusiasts will have ample reasons to smile in the new year.

Software-governed launches, drifts and burnouts are among the party tricks from the lightest, lithest BMW M car to date.

BMW is planning to add an M car to the 2 Series range that is hitting Australian showrooms in March. Tipped to join the rest of line-up in 2016, the M2 has reportedly been the path BMW has chosen after first considering, and then dropping, plans to produce a street-legal version of their M235i Racing -- the track variant of the M235i, according to Auto Express.A source told the UK site the track-to-road conversion plan was axed because it would “step on the toes of something else higher up the range", adding that it was a new M car.The M2 is tipped to be powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the M235i's 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder, but delivering a lift above the current 240kW of power and 450Nm of torque -- perhaps up to 45kW and 50Nm more to make 285kw and 500Nm, still leaving a gap to the 317kW/550Nm of the M3 and M4.The transmission will probably be a tweaked version of the M235i's eight-speed sports automatic with a launch control mode and F1-style steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, plus the possibility of the six-speed manual seen in the M135i hatch.There's also likely to be an improvement on the M235i's 0-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds, particularly if the M2 is the target of weight-trimming strategies, with the M235i tipping the scales at around 1600kg -- a hefty hike over the 1495kg of the 1 Series M Coupe (which was an M1 but couldn't carry that nameplate because of confusion with the iconic mid-engined sports cars of the late 1970s).A lighter weight would also help braking and handling, which are also likely to get attention with uprated discs and an M-division suspension tune with multiple settings, plus an electronically-controlled limited slip rear differential. And there's a chance we could see a toned down derivation of the M235i Racing's flared fenders housing wide M wheels.Expect to start looking for the M2 at a motor show next year, with roll-out to follow in 2016. In the meantime, stay tuned for our first drive of the BMW 2 Series range later today.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott