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Originally Posted by Blipit_
Post from the M2 CS thread....
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Thanks for the reference. I added the post number to your QUOTE tag so it’s easy for people to find the original.
Anyway, I suppose the next question would be, is there any chance that the N55 powered car is ending production to make way for a B58TU powered update? I acknowledge that it is pretty unlikely this could occur without ynguldyn getting wind of it. On the other hand, any breadcrumbs that might lead to the identity of and info about the new limited M3 model coming next year have escaped detection so far. So it does happen from time to time.
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Originally Posted by Blipit_
Of course this is a theory, but also based on some known facts. If you haven’t been following there is a Competition and CSL model coming.
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The M2 Competition(not CS), will replace the N55 M2 which ends production June 2018. It will be given a detuned S55, larger brakes(from spy videos), new seats, exterior refresh. This isn’t just a package like on other M models. The new name and price increase will help BMW explain the move to current N55 M2 owners.
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This is somewhat believable. However, there’s not a whole lot of room to move it up market without causing the starting price of the M2 and M4 to be too close - in the same 60k-ish price range (overlap with the M3, however, would not be an issue since it will be gone by the time these cars start hitting the dealerships in numbers, and plus it’s a four door). So, it leaves questions about what to do with the M4. Perhaps they would make the 444hp engine standard and bump up the base price. Just thinking out loud.
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BMW would not R&D the S55 for the M2 chassis and deal with all emissions regulation tests for one low volume CSL model. They would never recoup their money on 750 or 1000 units worldwide. Bean counters would not approve that.
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But, didn’t they do just that when they put the water injected S55 into the M4 GTS? I have my doubts that that engine “got a pass” in the area of regulatory certification simply because it was based on the standard S55. If that were the case, I’d think the the S55 potentially could too since it’s based on the N55. Sure, the differences are of another variety, but unless we are actually cracking open the law books from countries around the world, it seems like pure guesswork to say that the two situations are treated differently from a legal perspective.
Furthermore, and I guess this point should have been weighted higher that the one above, it was never suggested that the S55 would only be used in the CSL. Right? As far as I know, the prevailing theory was always that it would be used in both the ”CS” and the CSL. So either way, it would see much more production than just a thousand or so units. The question on the table is whether or not the “CS” will become the new base model, not whether or not it will use the S55.