It should have been unveiled a few weeks ago, but the German brand has delayed the world debut of the new 2023 BMW M2 Coupe until after the summer. A wait in which leaks continue to happen. This time, a real bomb, as a document has revealed that the new compact sports car may have xDrive all-wheel drive.
Almost at the end of last spring, those in Munich decided to change the camouflage of the prototypes of the new BMW M2 2023 and, incidentally, confirm some of the details of the technical specifications of this new generation of compact sports car. The icing on the range of the new BMW 2 Series Coupé awaits its presentation which, despite being scheduled for early this summer, has been delayed until next Octoberso the leaks continue to happen.
But not the production model, whose prototypes have been in a safe place for a few weeks. Although leaks are very common in BMW in recent years, one like the one that has come to the fore and that constitutes an unexpected bomb is not remembered. And it is that an official document reveals that the new BMW M2 can count on the “xDrive” all-wheel drive system. The document refers to the model with internal code “G87” -that of this sports car- and refers to the “xDrive traction system with transfer case».
BMW M2 Coupe 2023, xDrive all-wheel drive is an option
Although this possibility was not at all expected, despite the fact that the new BMW M2 is based on a shortened variant of the CLAR platform used by the BMW M4 that does have this “M xDrive” system, the manufacturer explains that this is a new system that provides excellent traction, in which improved driving dynamics values were a high priority during development. However, since a rigid connection between the front and rear axles has not been possible due to the possible differences in the speed of rotation of the wheels, those of BMW M have installed a multi-disc clutch in the transfer case.
This is responsible for variably distributing the engine torque –up to 1300Nm– Powered by the powerful 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder engine between the two drive axles in a perfect ratio of 50:50 or adapting to different driving situations with a ratio of 0:100 or 100:0. With five different modes, ‘M xDrive’ can be configured with stability control as one of the essential components, so ‘DSC’ can be on, off and in a special M mode, while traction can be calibrated in the modes of all wheel drive, sports all-wheel drive Y rear wheel drive.
According to the document, when stability control is completely disabled, then the pure and hard rear-wheel drive mode can be activated by bringing all the power to the rear axle. The front axle comes into operation when situations of slippage of this axle occur. Now, some questions that such a system generates remain to be resolved: Will it be an option or will it be offered on board the more radical versions of the Competition or M2 CSL?