Driving my "manual"BMW M2 for his first Nürburgring Nordschleife lap @ 2017

[@colin5577]

Good lap, great car and thanks for ordering a manual... every order helps keep the option alive.

[@Franzino]

:) In my country most M2 are DCT. The US demand keeps manual cars alive...and let's hope for some more years to come. www.bmwblog.com/2018/07/23/us-demand-for-manual-bmw-m2-models-is-keeping-manual-m-cars-alive/

[@Anders_HeymSR30]

Excellent driving! Interesting that the M2 sounds so much better than the M3/M4

[@Franzino]

BMW M3 S65B40 True....M2 sounds way better. I have the standard M2 exhaust and have zero plans to fit any other exhaust that is louder. IMO; the M2 not only sounds better, but drives so much nicer and more involving then the bigger brother. Never wanted a M4, but the M2 was on my wish list pretty fast after test driving it.

[@exev6700]

nice manual M2 and driving. I have seen you driven the 997 Gt3 too. How would you compare both? Is the Gt3 leagues over the m2 in terms of raw, rewarding, specialness driving experience?

[@Franzino]

The 997 GT3 RS is in a league above the M2 in terms of raw, rewarding, special driving experience on track...there is no comparison between the two ;) The GT3 RS is a track car, that can be driven on the street, a M2 is street car that can be driven on track.

[@exev6700]

Thanks. Do you driven a 997 GT3 on street too?

[@Franzino]

Yes I did drive a GT3 RS on the street....it is not the nicest car to drive on the street...it drives best on track :)

[@Anders_HeymSR30]

Apart from the drivers involvement, did you compare the manual with the DCT? I liked it on my E92 but suspect the engine in the M2 is a great fit with the manual

[@Franzino]

I had a test M2 DCT for 3 hours, a M2 manual for 1 hour and a M4 DCT for 1 hour. The first testdrive was with the M2 DCT. When I picked up the M2 it already won me over after 15min of testing and I was tempted to buy a M2 DCT. Then I needed to decide the color and gearbox...so I also did a test with a manual M2 and again with a M4 DCT (back to back). In the past I borrowed an e90 M3 DCT from a friend for one week and lived with it on a daily basis. I did not like the gearbox in city and slow stop and go traffic (I hated it when parking in tight spots). On normal roads the DCT made me want to drive the car realy fast to enjoy the fast shifts. For me the DCT gearbox is at his best when driving realy fast or on a track...then it is an extra value and awesome piece (personal opinion). After two days in city traffic I stopped using the manual gearshifts of the DCT and just put it in D(rive)... It made me feel like a leazy driver in the e90 M3. With the manual gearbox you can feel the effect of turbo lag a little more then with the DCT. The DCT shifts faster so there is less drop in rev's. The DCT has 7 instead of 6 gears, so the gearing is also shorter and it feels that you keep the engine more in the powerband with feeling less turbo lag. When I made my pro & con's list…the DCT had more con's for me then the manual. IMO the M2 is a car that is more about involvement and a little back to basic driving pleasure (in a modern package). I felt the manual gearbox suited the M2 personality better. With the bigger f80 M3/M4 I would probably also choose DCT. It's a great gearbox and I understand why people would like to have it.... In the end I choose the gearbox with the heart and I ordered a manual M2.