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      05-01-2016, 06:55 AM   #1
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TopGear compares M2 and GT350R

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I think the better test would be with a GT350 (non-R), but here you go:

http://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-...scle-car-war#1

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      05-01-2016, 09:17 AM   #2
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Certainly enjoyed the article. Without having driven the Mustang, I certainly find their observations likely true.

A good comparison.
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      05-02-2016, 11:53 AM   #3
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I had considered buying a GT350R, but I was not willing to pay the 30-50k markup.... Much like the GT4. Both are awesome cars.
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      05-02-2016, 11:55 AM   #4
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Good article..
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      05-02-2016, 11:59 AM   #5
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      05-02-2016, 12:01 PM   #6
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I love how the article mentioned the lack of M mirrors, and a CFR. Trolls
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      05-02-2016, 12:01 PM   #7
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A lot of goodies goes into the GT350R!
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      05-02-2016, 12:02 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT View Post
I love how the article mentioned the lack of M mirrors, and a CFR. Trolls
The car honestly should be lighter...
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      05-02-2016, 12:09 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fusionrace
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT View Post
I love how the article mentioned the lack of M mirrors, and a CFR. Trolls
The car honestly should be lighter...
And faster
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      05-02-2016, 12:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F87LUV
Quote:
Originally Posted by fusionrace
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT View Post
I love how the article mentioned the lack of M mirrors, and a CFR. Trolls
The car honestly should be lighter...
And faster
I do agree there.

Although it'd be a hard sell, to make it outperform the F8x straight from the factory.
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      05-02-2016, 12:20 PM   #11
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I don't see the GT 350 R the direct rival of M2... 😮
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      05-02-2016, 12:32 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT
Quote:
Originally Posted by F87LUV
Quote:
Originally Posted by fusionrace
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT View Post
I love how the article mentioned the lack of M mirrors, and a CFR. Trolls
The car honestly should be lighter...
And faster
I do agree there.

Although it'd be a hard sell, to make it outperform the F8x straight from the factory.
But it should be slightly more comparable. I mean it's definitely fast enough for daily driving but I kind of want more power. When I test drove the M3, it was instant power. I'm still breaking it in, maybe I just need to floor it.
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      05-02-2016, 12:39 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fusionrace View Post
The car honestly should be lighter...
How much weight savings do M-mirrors and CFR deliver though? IIRC, the roof is about 12 lbs, which isn't really moving the needle.

I agree 100% that the M2 needs a serious diet, but the changes need to happen at a fundamental level. The 2-series platform shares too much with the 3-series. Until BMW addresses weight savings as a top priority at a platform (chassis) level, we won't see a lightweight M2.

(I'm not saying it's not possible; I'm saying CFR and mirrors aren't the solution)
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      05-02-2016, 12:43 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bradleyland
Quote:
Originally Posted by fusionrace View Post
The car honestly should be lighter...
How much weight savings do M-mirrors and CFR deliver though? IIRC, the roof is about 12 lbs, which isn't really moving the needle.

I agree 100% that the M2 needs a serious diet, but the changes need to happen at a fundamental level. The 2-series platform shares too much with the 3-series. Until BMW addresses weight savings as a top priority at a platform (chassis) level, we won't see a lightweight M2.

(I'm not saying it's not possible; I'm saying CFR and mirrors aren't the solution)
I think people just want those things to prove the M2s' "M status".
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      05-02-2016, 12:45 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vladberca
I don't see the GT 350 R the direct rival of M2... 😮
The M2 should be faster. For the coin it should have an engine closer to the M3/4. It should be at least a twin turbo. Maybe drop the water/air intercooler.

It's not surprising to me that people gawk at the GT350R and ignore the M2.

I saw one in person yesterday along with the new Ford GT at Laguna Seca. Dang!

Anyway good article.
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      05-02-2016, 12:47 PM   #16
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The GT350R is an incredibly difficult car to go head-to-head with, although this particular case does seem like an odd pairing. The price difference between these two cars stretches well beyond $10k when you start adding any options at all to the GT350R. The standard equipment on the M2 is one of its strong points, if you intend to live with the car every day.

All things considered, they were very fair to the M2. The GT350R is an absolute weapon. Ford took a portly muscle car and turned it in to a proper sports car. Consider the company the GT350R keeps on the list of Nordschliefe lap times:

GT350R 7:32.19
Audi R8 V10 (MkII) 7:30.00
997 Porsche GT2 7:31.00
F12 Berlinetta 7:33.00
Zonda F 7:33.00

That any comparison can be made to a $52k BMW is pretty damned incredible.
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      05-02-2016, 12:54 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bradleyland
The GT350R is an incredibly difficult car to go head-to-head with, although this particular case does seem like an odd pairing. The price difference between these two cars stretches well beyond $10k when you start adding any options at all to the GT350R. The standard equipment on the M2 is one of its strong points, if you intend to live with the car every day.

All things considered, they were very fair to the M2. The GT350R is an absolute weapon. Ford took a portly muscle car and turned it in to a proper sports car. Consider the company the GT350R keeps on the list of Nordschliefe lap times:

GT350R 7:32.19
Audi R8 V10 (MkII) 7:30.00
997 Porsche GT2 7:31.00
F12 Berlinetta 7:33.00
Zonda F 7:33.00

That any comparison can be made to a $52k BMW is pretty damned incredible.
I really like that American manufacturers are really focusing on track times now, with the Z06, ZL1, Viper ACR and now this GT350R keeping up with European and Japanese powerhouses. It's really nice to see competition and higher quality with American made vehicles.

On this M2, I don't see it being comparable to the GT350R but it seems to hold its own quite well.
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      05-02-2016, 01:13 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by F87LUV View Post
I think people just want those things to prove the M2s' "M status".
I feel like people want those things because they are aesthetically pleasing.

After all, the only people who know that custom mirrors and CF roof denote "M status" are enthusiasts who already know the M2 is an M without them. So if people just wanted to be vain they would be asking for more ///M badges to prove themselves to the non-enthusiasts.
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      05-02-2016, 01:15 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ndukyh
Quote:
Originally Posted by F87LUV View Post
I think people just want those things to prove the M2s' "M status".
I feel like people want those things because they are aesthetically pleasing.

After all, the only people who know that custom mirrors and CF roof denote "M status" are enthusiasts who already know the M2 is an M without them. So if people just wanted to be vain they would be asking for more ///M badges to prove themselves to the non-enthusiasts.
Perhaps but I would rather have some functional upgrades like a sunroof, front parking sensors or visible instrument cluster during the day. My M2 is black so aesthetically the lack of CF roof doesn't make much difference to me. If the M mirrors weren't inefficient then yes, I'd like those.
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      05-02-2016, 02:37 PM   #20
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I briefly considered a GT350R last year.. nice ride but I didn't want to spend $70k on a Mustang. Then I looked at the regular GT350 Track Pack with the R wheels but that ended up costing more than the R. Finally I learned that availability on the R is very limited with a lengthy wait list (although the same applies to the M2).

This is not to say it's not worth the price, rather that I couldn't justify it to myself.
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      05-02-2016, 03:02 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bradleyland View Post
How much weight savings do M-mirrors and CFR deliver though? IIRC, the roof is about 12 lbs, which isn't really moving the needle....
Stringing together a bunch of minor weight savings that don't "move the needle" on an individual basis is the most common way for engineers to drop a ton of weight from a car. So when BMW don't use a CFR with the M2, we can infer how seriously they treated weight savings when developing the car.

People point to the CFR as a line BMW drew between weight savings and cost. If they didn't bother with a CFR, what other weight saving techniques did they also leave on the table?
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      05-02-2016, 03:19 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT
Quote:
Originally Posted by F87LUV
Quote:
Originally Posted by fusionrace
Quote:
Originally Posted by DRTMGRT View Post
I love how the article mentioned the lack of M mirrors, and a CFR. Trolls
The car honestly should be lighter...
And faster
I do agree there.

Although it'd be a hard sell, to make it outperform the F8x straight from the factory.
just make it cost the same as the M3. I think that would be fine if the performance and features could back it up. consumers would probably then cry about it costing too much .. just can't please everyone!
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