The all-new BMW 2 Series Coupé (G42)

[supra93]

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/global/article/detail/T0336854EN/the-all-new-bmw-2-series-coupé

 

[Sebass]

Hmmm... This looks off. I really dislike the abrupt, jagged nature of the head and taillights, and the whole thing just doesn't look right to me. I know, very poetic language I'm using, but I think others can probably relate. At least it doesn't have beaver teeth, and I am glad that BMW is keeping the 2 series around.

 

[Gor134]

I honestly like it a lot despite all the negativity this car is getting, which shocked me. It really feels like a modern E30 to me. Very boxy proportions with boxy fender flares, and a nice long dash-to-axle giving it that typical RWD Coupe look. And I love the M3-style hood bump and E90-style taillight shape. Only thing I'd say is an issue is the wheels are a bit small and throw off the proportions.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Interior's great. Exterior feels off, as @Sebass said. It has that "squished" look like the body was meant to work for both a sedan and a CUV but ends up not quite right for either, and that's probably what's happening.

 

[Gecko]

The proportions of the 1 series-turned 2 series-now new 2 series have always been off to me. The car has a small footprint and wants to be sporty, but when you can't drop the center of gravity and seating position like you can with something like an 86 or BRZ, you have to cope with taller door panels and a larger greenhouse which do look out of place on such a small coupe. It looks squished and toy-ish, but I'm not debating the car's performance merits, which I think is the primary reason it's purchased (and not design).

It feels obvious to me that BMW design is flailing and trying to find things that work -- but missing the mark. The last 10-15 years at BMW have been up and down and the company has dipped into the red at different points, and the feeling from dealers was that cars didn't look unique or updated enough while the design language at Mercedes and Lexus, and less so Audi, evolved so quickly. Basically: BMW designs didn't look different or unique enough. There are only so many ways to style a double kidney grill, halo headlights, etc... and think about how much Lexus' spindle/L-Finesse design has improved over the last decade, and similarly, how much Mercedes design has improved. BMWs... still look like basic BMWs, and sure there is a core base of buyers who like and want that look, but in a competitive set, the feeling has been that BMW designs aren't standing out as much as they should.

This put pressure on BMW a few years ago to take more risks and evolve design to be more outwardly exciting where possible. We started to see the kidney grills stretch more horizontally across the front of sedans, then we saw them get taller on CUVs and SUVs, then now we've moved onto the pig nose on the 4 series. The tail lights on this 2 series remind me of the tail lights on the refreshed X3, which look like some of the crazy Chinese aftermarket tail lights that showed up 10-15 years ago.

Anyway, TL;DR: BMW is changing design for the sake of changing the design, not because it necessarily looks better - and it shows. Lexus designs look good. So do Audi's. Mercedes is getting back to a more bland, "one sausage, different lengths" philosophy again, but it's still more dynamic than BMW overall. There has been a lot of weird stuff (4 Series, X6, 2 series, etc) so I hope that BMW can settle into a future-looking design language that makes their cars feel special and beautiful again.

 

[mikeavelli]

Another ruined product. And their interiors are so bad, the gauge cluster is a mess.

I have an idea. Stop making your cuvs influence your cars.

Manual is gone too.

To their credit, at least they kept the coupe.

 

[Sulu]

It is easy to scale up a good car design, something that already has good proportions; but it is (almost?) impossible to scale done, especially if some dimensions cannot be changed due to the underlying function or subsystems. We see that in the Tesla Model S (good proportions) and Model 3 (not so good proportions). And we see it here, where larger BMW models have a well-proportioned design but this 2-Series coupe does not.

I suspect that is what happened here. BMW insists on leaving room for a long inline-6 engine, and as a result the engine bay is tremendously long and out of proportion with the rest of the car. Even Mercedes-Benz gave up on the idea of an I6 in its new C-Class so that the engine bay could be shorter (and more in proportion with the rest of the car).

 

[maiaramdan]

Honestly it's not that bad, and I see some vibes from 86 especially in the rear quarter!

Now I hope if the rumored Lexus 86 is right not to be a ripoff copy again but has it's own front, back, interior design not just another copy with spindle grille!

 

[Gecko]

It is easy to scale up a good car design, something that already has good proportions; but it is (almost?) impossible to scale done, especially if some dimensions cannot be changed due to the underlying function or subsystems. We see that in the Tesla Model S (good proportions) and Model 3 (not so good proportions). And we see it here, where larger BMW models have a well-proportioned design but this 2-Series coupe does not.

I suspect that is what happened here. BMW insists on leaving room for a long inline-6 engine, and as a result the engine bay is tremendously long and out of proportion with the rest of the car. Even Mercedes-Benz gave up on the idea of an I6 in its new C-Class so that the engine bay could be shorter (and more in proportion with the rest of the car).

The long hood is literally the best thing this car has going for it.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Another ruined product. And their interiors are so bad, the gauge cluster is a mess.

I have an idea. Stop making your cuvs influence your cars.

Manual is gone too.

To their credit, at least they kept the coupe.

 

[Motor]

https://www.bmwusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=4044&mid=

 

[Gor134]

I love how beefy and muscular it looks. And the traditional proportions actually looks like a BMW.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Why did they put a Dodge Charger grille on a Bimmer? Looks good otherwise though.

 

[Levi]

No.

 

[MichaelL]

I love how beefy and muscular it looks. And the traditional proportions actually looks like a BMW.

I like the car, how many stick shift, rear wheel drive coupes are out there…. But over styled rear end, unnecessarily bulky and too HEAVY.

 

[ssun30]

So the new M2 with AT weighs 1775kg which is heavier than the RC-F. Is the media going to complain non-stop it's too heavy?

 

[Gor134]

BMW lists the weight on the USA press reveal as 3,867 lbs for the AT M2. And yes, the media has been complaining about the weight gain, been seeing lots of comments especially complaining about the weight gain on the forums and news articles.

 

[mikeavelli]

I can’t believe BMW design is some of the worst around. Don’t tell me a RC F is heavy and this weighs just as much.

 

[Motor]

2024 BMW M2 Coupe | BMW USA

Put the power in your drive with the 2024 BMW M2 Coupe. This two-door sports coupe is built to intensify every high-performance thrill.

www.bmwusa.com

$62,200 Starting MSRP

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

2024 BMW M2 Coupe | BMW USA

Put the power in your drive with the 2024 BMW M2 Coupe. This two-door sports coupe is built to intensify every high-performance thrill.

www.bmwusa.com

$62,200 Starting MSRP

Holy hell that's awfully close to the GR Supra. Granted, the Toyota is practically fully-specced while the BMW is bare-bones. I would say if the two cars would meet parity in terms of features then the BMW would be a solid 10k USD more.