Anyone who is anyone in the area of automobile customization and performance tuning can be seen at the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas. BMW now considers itself a specialty-equipment manufacturer with its M Performance parts line; this year, at the SEMA show, they presented their sport-oriented catalog in the form a fully outfitted BMW M4, as well as displaying the first BMW M Performance parts for the just-announced BMW M2.
Among BMW’s current offerings, the M4 is the car that comes to mind most readily when people think of ultimate driving machines, because the M4 and its four-door sibling, the M3, are about driving. Sporty, dynamic, fun driving. The M4 experience may now be enhanced both aesthetically and in real performance by BMW M Performance parts that lower the car’s weight and add to its aerodynamic qualities.
It doesn’t hurt that most of the BMW M Performance parts also look great.
Some M Performance parts are just for looks, like the carbon-fiber front inserts, high-gloss side gills, and of course, racing stripes. In the back, the M Performance carbon fiber diffuser is an upgrade over stock, as is the through-flow rear spoiler.
The adjustable BMW M Performance coilover suspension that lowers the car may help the car’s overall look, but its effect on the car’s handling will certainly be felt.
Titanium is no longer just a color for a BMW; it’s actually used in the construction of the M Performance exhaust. The rear silencer is made entirely of titanium and wears the “M Performance” inscription when viewed from the rear. Exhaust tips are carbon fiber with an M logo.
BMW M4 owners can “M Performance” the heck out of the interior as well, starting with a BMW M Performance Pro clear-finish carbon-fiber-trimmed steering wheel. An M Performance shift lever for the M-DCT sticks out of the M Performance center console. Carbon fiber can also be had on door handles and the handbrake lever. The pedals get M Performance stainless steel covers.
M4 Coupe M Performance parts will be available at BMW dealers starting in January 2016.
The smaller—and some say even sportier—BMW M2 Coupe gets its own line of BMW M Performance parts, which are also on display at the 2015 SEMA. Black gloss trim grilles in the front and black gloss trim bars for the front will look good when paired with side M gill elements and carbon-fiber mirror caps. The M2 may be fitted with a BMW M Performance rear spoiler in a carbon-fiber finish and like the M4, can take advantage of a lowering M Performance suspension and sports exhaust.
Made for the M2’s interior are an M Performance steering wheel with Alcantera cover, carbon-fiber center console and shift lever, and stainless steel pedal covers.
BMW M Performance parts for the M2 Coupe should show up about the same time as the car—in spring 2016.
All the BMW tuners and aftermarket suppliers making performance components and appearance accessories have created a big market for those items among BMW owners. A market so big that BMW now thinks it could be profitable to jump in.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
