In the months leading up to the U.S. press launch of the new BMW M2, BMW made the case that the M2 is the direct descendent of a line of performance cars that began with the BMW 2002 Turbo and extended through the M2's immediate predecessor, the BMW 1 Series M Coupe. To put an exclamation point on that genealogy, BMW brought together a 2002 Turbo, a 1 Series M Coupe, and a new M2 coupe for a leisurely drive in the country—and by drive in the country, we mean touring laps at Laguna Seca.
As much as we may lust after a new M2, the video of the 2002 Turbo makes us nearly as excited, since it was the 2002 Turbo that first drew our attention to hot two-door BMWs.
The 2002 Turbo was launched at the 1973 Frankfurt Auto Show and was built in 1973 and 1974. It was decades ahead of its time in that it was BMW’s first turbocharged production car. Now all BMW cars are turbocharged to help the company meet emissions and fuel mileage mandates. The 2002 Turbo developed 170 horsepower at 5,800 rpm. It may also have been the first BMW street car to wear the now-familiar BMW Motorsport colors, since we don’t remember seeing those colors previously on anything other than the racing 3.0 CSLs. A total of 1,672 BMW 2002 Turbos were built.
BMW M gave us the 1 M Coupe in 2011. Seemingly following the 2002 Turbo’s example, it was only offered for two model years and only 6,309 were built. The BMW 1 M was powered by the twin-turbo N54 inline six that developed 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Only 740 units made it to the United States, which was a shame, given its outstanding performance. It was the smaller, lighter, faster BMW we had been waiting for but, like the 2002 Turbo, it was pretty rare.
It’s easy to see the lineage of the 2002 Turbo and the 1 M Coupe in the new BMW M2. The M2’s power is similar to the 1 M Coupe’s, with the M2’s twin-turbo six cranking out 370 horsepower and 343 pound-feet of torque. We don’t know yet how many M2s BMW intends to build, but we know that the U.S. will eventually get a lot more of them that we did either the 2002 Turbo or the 1 M Coupe.
As we watch the video showing the three generations of smaller, two-door BMW performance cars touring Laguna Seca, we can’t help but think that although they are separated by 40 years of technology and automotive evolution, the fun factor—calibrated for speed, of course—is pretty much the same.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of Bimmerpost.]
