The BMW M2. 

This is a Car that I have previously driven on the Nürburgring Nordschleife but not a properly setup and tuned example. For the Review I am using a Raeder Motorsport BMW M2 that was modified for one of my friends who regularly drives on Track!

​For around 6-7 weeks I have been looking after this Car before it went into storage; using it locally for Food Shopping and general Driving around the local area before driving a couple of Laps on the 'Ring!

The Car was given to me on Michelin Cup 2 Tyres but we changed to the Nankang AR-1 around one week before I tested the Car on Track. I did notice the AR-1 is a much louder Tyre to drive on, but the sidewall strength is very similar to the Dunlop Direzza which is used by several TF and Trackday enthusiasts!

After the first drive down to Adenau and back I was raving about how 'tight' the Car is, and how nice it feels on the local B-Roads. Raeder Motorsport have taken a Vehicle that I hated and turned it into a little weapon that seems to never run out of grip - anywhere! 

If you are reading this review on a Laptop/PC you will see the additional images to the right of this text, and if you are using a Mobile Device you can scroll through and will see the additional pictures at the bottom of the page.

As you can see - I haven't got time to clean Cars so I always visit the Car Wash in Adenau at Aral Gas Station. I run my own Car through here every couple of weeks, or whenever I remember and it has been fine for the 1.5 years that I have been driving the Golf GTi. I recently took the Mercedes C63-S AMG through the same Car Wash and we aren't having any issues with it so we are good :-)

Part of me having the Car here included regular cleaning to keep it looking nice, and also taking the Vehicle where it needed for either Servicing, or Tyres, and also to fill the Tank for its next Nordschleife stint!

Lets get on with the Review!

​The Chassis

Incredibly tight! Ridiculously tight! Sharp! Precise! Aaahhhh! This Car really does take me back to my E36 and E36 Compact days. It does EVERYTHING that I ask it to do, with minimal effort.

I do not think I have had this type of relationship with a Car for a long time. It just works. It turns. It brakes. It GRIPS the fucking tarmac and is probably one of the best setup Cars I have ever driven in my life.

The Body

There is only one word to describe this Vehicle.. Beautiful.

How can a Car be Aggressive AND Elegant? Who drew the lines on this thing? It looks like a work of Art. Who designed that front bumper, and bonnet? It is insane! One of the sales guys at BMW Frankfurt said they had to make the rear of the Car wider to fit the M3 Diff and Subframe.. that was it.. I told him to stop telling me because it was breaking me inside haha :P 

I know it looks amazing, the rear is just as nice as the front - but don't break down the reason for it looking like that. I cannot mentally process this much information. 

The Throttle

​AGGRESSION. ON. ANOTHER. LEVEL.. This is ridiculous! If I press full throttle (ca 370ps) I have to breathe while shaking my head because it is such an emotional journey through the RPM range. It produces a perfect mix of Power and Torque right up to Redline. Quite similar to the power delivery in the first BMW E92 335i that was released back in 2006, but stronger.

It wasn't until after three or four weeks that I spoke to Chris (vehicle owner) and asked if he minded me demonstrating 100% throttle on the local roads. He said yes and we had a conversation about it afterwards which included lots of swearing, and lots of swearing! Lets just say it is a very well put together package! 

The Exhaust

Ha! Now this was another crazy conversation with Chris! I asked him at least 5 times if this was the factory exhaust.. :O  What the hell? No... What the FUCK? If you haven't heard the factory exhaust on the BMW M2 (not Competition, the normal M2) then please get yourself to a BMW Dealership for a test drive, or search some YouTube clips.

This thing is ridiculously stupid. The noise is LOUD but also nice at the same time. It is not an offensive sound. By offensive I mean the sound from a shitty 2.0T with a disgusting exhaust and Pop and Bang Remap! I hate that shit. It sounds SHIT! The fact that people buy shit Cars then 'try' to make it sound like a Race Car is beyond me. Just drive your piece of shit and leave it alone.. If you want a Car that SOUNDS good, work harder and buy a BMW 'M', or a Porsche 911, or a Ferrari/Lamborghini, etc..  I know my Car is shit. It is a VW Golf 7 GTi, so whatever noise it makes is what it should make. I cannot buy an exhaust to make it louder, because it will only annoy my neighbours and piss people off with Farting noises. 

In comparison to the Team Schirmer BMW M4 and the Rent4Ring BMW 125i setup, this is a really enjoyable Car and makes for great fun to drive! After feeling the Car both on the Road and Track, I am more inclined to say the Rent4Ring setup might work better on this Car.

​I will speak to Pascal Stegemann (Rent4Ring Mechanic/Workshop Leader) about looking at this Car when he has some spare time. I would love to hear his opinion of the Setup and what he thinks of it.

Chris has driven Lap after Lap and hasn't any complaints - so maybe I am just used to the R4R Setup which allows me to drive like a complete maniac and doesn't interfere or activate the Traction Control system as often. Either way, this is an incredible Car and a really good machine/#RingTool. It has been a pleasure to drive!

Nicholas Lawrence
web - www.on-cars.com
email - [email protected]