The latest BMW M cars are straight-line demons from the factory, and they take well to mods. This is perhaps the most extreme modern M car we've seen yet, an M2 drag car pumping out 1,500 horsepower to all four wheels. It's the work of UK-based aftermarket shop R44 Performance and Tom Wrigley Performance, and it's headed to the US to try and claim the mantle of the world's quickest BMW.
This project began with the all-wheel drive conversion. BMW doesn't sell an all-wheel drive M2—at least not yet—but underneath, the car is largely the same as the M3 and M4, both of which have all-wheel drive options. (BMW does sell an all-wheel drive 2 Series, but the hardware is slightly different than the M cars) For this build, R44 and Tom Wrigley Performance sourced the drivetrain from an M3 and after much trial and error, managed to make it work.
To get 1,500 horsepower, Tom Wrigley Performance dropped the stock twin turbos for an enormous single turbo setup, skimmed and sleeved the engine, installed forged internals, and all sorts of extra cooling. The eight-speed automatic transmission also gets new internals to deal with the massive torque. On top of all that, there's a full roll cage, carbon bucket seats with six-point harnesses, extensive suspension upgrades, custom Vossen wheels, and lots of carbon-fiber bodywork. Oh, and a parachute.
The M2 is headed stateside to make a couple appearances, including at the TX2K in Texas next March, an event for street-legal drag cars. There, it will challenge to become one of the world's fastest BMWs. R44 Performance has a full build series on its YouTube channel, so be sure to check that out if you want to see everything that goes into making one of the most extreme M2s on the planet.
