Well, not the Stig, but a Stig. Ben Collins, who was revealed in 2013 to be one of the drivers portraying Top Gear’s “tame racing driver,” took the new M2 out for a spin recently, and Goodwood Road and Racing made a video of it.
The Stig was the faceless, silent, but very talented racing driver on the BBC’s popular Top Gear program, and who was only seen in a racing firesuit, helmet, shoes, and gloves. The identities of the drivers who have portrayed the Stig have always been closely held secrets. Collins was revealed as one of the Stigs as a result of court document filings related to his autobiography.
Collins is an accomplished race-car driver whose company also provides drivers and driving services for television programs and feature films.
But that’s enough about the Stig. Let’s move on to what’s important: the BMW M2.
It’s no secret that BMW has built an M car that returns to the company’s roots of smaller, lighter, high-performance coupes that handle, brake, and accelerate to the extreme and have no problem pegging most drivers’ fun meters.
The three-liter, six-cylinder, turbocharged, 365-horsepower engine powers the rear wheels through a six-speed manual or seven-speed M double-clutch transmission. Top speed is electronically limited to 155 miles per hour. The M2’s zero-to-60 mph time is 4.4 seconds with the manual and 4.2 seconds with the DCT. Other things you’re glad the car has include M compound brakes, Active M differential, Dynamic Stability Control with M Dynamic Mode, an M suspension, and the M version of electronic power steering.
In the U.S., the M2 starts at $51,700 and tops out at around $57,400, not counting accessories.
Let’s take a look at the video to see what Collins thinks about BMW’s newest M car. If you want to make the video seem more like a Stig test drive, mute the audio.—Scott Blazey
[Photo and video courtesy of Goodwood Road and Racing.]
