A 400-hp BMW M2 CS might be on the way, but is that what we really want?

THE HYPOTHETICAL M2 CS WOULD GET THE M4'S S55 ENGINE, DETUNED

By Graham Kozak - Autoweek

“We didn’t want to build a small M3 or M4,” BMW M Engineering VP Dirk Haecker told us when we drove the BMW M2 for the first time earlier this year.

OK, but what if BMW actually did decide to build a small M3 or M4? It would have to trade its 365-hp turbocharged inline-six -- known as the N55 -- for the more powerful S55 variant. It might get the electronically adjustable shocks found on the bigger M-cars. Probably a different body kit. Wider tires. Hopefully a few weight-saving measures, like a carbon-fiber roof, to offset the mass of all that performance stuff. Maybe it would be called the BMW M2 CS.

At the Bimmerpost forum, a longtime user that goes by the handle "ynguldyn" uses unknown sources to maintain a fairly accurate future product pipeline -- and they just added the M2 CS in one of their November updates. They claim it will be built around a detuned S55 engine producing around 400 hp; if built, it will likely go on sale sometime in 2018.

We do have more than this single unverifiable claim to go on -- like this video from late September, which shows something interesting undergoing testing on the Nurburgring. It looks like an M2, camouflaged from the beltline down, making funny noises that sound a lot more like an M3 or M4:

Let's work under the assumption that the video above shows a more powerful M2 variant that will eventually make it to market (whether it's called the M2 CS or something else entirely).

Our question is, who is it for? We have yet to read a review of the M2 that calls for more power; the general consensus is that it's one of the most balanced, versatile and all-around fun M-cars in recent memory, though it could stand to lose some of its 3,450-pound curb weight. 

If we had to venture a guess, we'd say the hypothetical M2 CS will be something along the lines of the limited-production M4 GTS -- a track-focused specialist that offers more power and more performance potential, yet won't make vanilla-M2 owners feel like they've missed out on the "better" version of their car. If we're lucky, it won't even have back seats.

We'd tell you to stay tuned for updates from BMW, but it's probably going to be awhile before we hear anything official on this front. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more more weird camouflaged coupes ripping around the Nurburgring.