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So the day finally arrived, my first track outing with the M2C! Ever since I got the car over 6 months ago, been itching to see what it can do on the track, and it didn't disappoint! I took along my vRS to do some back to back's and understand exactly how much and where the differences are between these two.

Unfortunately, rain and light played spoil sport and cut short our session by almost half with a heavy downpour, so my track time was limited and plans to get some nice pics around sunset went out the window too. Below are the only couple pics I clicked before we started the session.





First Impressions?

Suspension/Handling:

The first thing that keeps coming back everytime I drive this car (road or track) is how well balanced and planted it feels. The suspension makes perfect sense on the track and the car inspires a lot of confidence, encouraging you to push harder and harder! Of note was the way the differential and traction control systems worked - there is a long right turn on Chennai's MMRT that really shows off the differential working and putting more power on the outside wheel to keep you locked in the turn. This was really exciting and the systems tend to work with you and not against you. The steering feel and feedback was spot on and really sharp, after a few laps and as I learnt the car, it because so much easier for me to place it in the correct lines and attack corners with a lot more precision and confidence. These are probably the biggest aspects of what makes an 'M' car. Its not just the power, its the way that power is managed and delivered.

Power/Transmission:

The car has more power than my skills are ready to extract on a track like MMRT, so no complaints (yet) on the amount of power the car had. The gearbox was incredibly quick and super engaging. Was in Sports+ mode all the time and the turbos seemed ready to pounce at any rpm on any gear, BMW's tweaks to keeping the turbos spooled and ready all the time in Sports+ really shows of here.

Goofup:

Remember I said this car needs to be driven and you cant just floor it all the time and expect it to drive itself like some 4WD cars? That came into play today - after a few laps and learning the traction systems, I wanted to try out the MDM mode and see how it felt (bad idea so early in my experience), after a few corners of managing it, as I was entering into the long straight, I went on the gas a bit too hard and the car's tail immediately spun out and I didn't react quickly enough to correct causing a few massive swerves before it recovered. There is a ton of torque and power on tap and the M2C is known to have a very playful character, which shows off properly on the track. So note to self - need to get a lot more experience and practise under the belt before you try to play hero again. This challenge of 'taming the beast' and that push to work on your skills as a driver, really listening to and understanding how the car behaves and reacts is part of the journey for me with this car.

Summary of first track day?:

I cant wait to go back and improve my skills, learn the car, learn the limits and become a better driver. Right now, the capabilities of the car are far greater than mine as a driver - I hope to reduce this gap soon.

Now to the part that a lot of people probably want to know, what's it like vs the vRS?:

I know this is an unfair comparison, one is a family sedan for all intents and one is a sports coupe. But considering how often I hear the term 'sports car killer' for the vRS and how many people ask me for the comparison, I wanted to address this topic, and thats why I took along my vRS.

So, my purchase cost difference between the vRS and the M2C is about 3x. So we'll address the 'value' of paying 3x in every department of the driving aspects (not talking about practicality here):

Power/Transmission:

On a track like MMRT the power difference between the two is less emphasised since its not a very fast track, so in a straight line is there a 3x difference? No. It probably feels like a 2x difference. Mine is a Stage 1 vRS doing about 275-280whp so thats a 20% bump up from stock, so with a stock car the gap will be wider.

Overall, including straights and turns together as whole is there a 3x difference? absolutely! The way the engines and gearboxes of these two behave as a package is what makes the power delivery and the sensation so different!

The transmission plays a huge role in how the car feels and performs, in this aspect is there a 3x difference? Its probably like 6x difference in this department. The speed of the shifts, the reaction times of the box, the tuning of the gearbox to squeeze every last bit of power all are several leagues above in the M2C. Everytime you use the paddles on the M2C, the satisfaction and engagement you get is something else.

Suspension Handling:

As you can imagine, this is where the biggest differences lie. First and foremost is the balance - the M2C on balance along feels 4x better. Its more planted, focussed and engaging in ways the vRS simply cannot match. This is probably the BIGGEST reason the M2 costs what it does vs the vRS.

The vRS is very respectable on the track too, but vs the M2C on road or track, the gap in sharpness, turn-in, mechanical grip all are several leagues apart.

The differential which the vRS doesnt have, the stiffened chassis, the way the dynamics are tuned by the M division, all addup to a significantly superior experience that no family sedan can match. This includes BMW's own 3 series, leave alone the vRS.

Overall:

This isnt a fair comparison, but in the context of the Indian market where enthusiast choices are extremely limited, the vRS is a gem and comparisons are inevitable.

The vRS is a fantastic package for a family sedan with all the practicality we need, and delivers a ton of fun for the enthusiast. With a few mods, it can punch several notches above its weight and its the perfect highway cruiser! But having owned and driven both side by side, will I call it a sports car killer (even with the power matched), no! Is the M2C worth 3x the price difference? Depends. If you call yourself a driving enthusiast and want to taste and appreciate the dynamics, engagement and all other in between sensations of driving beyond just straight line speed (which ofcourse it does in spades too) then yes, the 3x difference can be justified.

Very well explained. Loved going thru your write up.
Your garage is indeed drool worthy :)

Happy miles ahead buddy

Brilliant, you are one of the very few folks who exploit the true purpose of the car. My advice would be to pick up another set of tyres for the car, as they will wear hard as also brake pads if you start getting addicted.

The vRS shows up as a purely road car on track. Having driven an Ameo Cup car on the track, I get the big difference between a road car and a full purpose race car.

There was a scheme where you could rent a retired Vento/Ameo track car. Highly recommend you try that and explore your personal limits. Yes, they are front drivers but you can develop your throttle control a little better.

Key is to lift off and be gentle on your steering inputs.

Even In MDM mode, when the car turns too far the DSC still kicks in, reduces engine power and adds a bit of mild braking.

Unless you did a long press of the DSC button completely disabling it. While trying the MDM for the first time it's better to enable the MDM mode with just one press of the DSC button which will help you in potentially dangerous situations such as this rather than a long press of the DSC button which disables it completely.

It's awesome that the tracks have opened up. And lovely to see both the M2 and the vRS being driven there. Lovely set of pics too. Can't get enough of that paint on the M2 :D


Just curious, how much of tyre did you end up putting down after a track session like you had, considering there was rain later into the session I'm guessing it might be less. But when the rear stepping out fun is had I'd assume the tyre gets worn out even more.

But let's say a normal hot day in chennai climate on a full track day. How many sessions would a set of rear tyre hold up good for?
And does it at all make sense to have dedicated set of track tyres(maybe even tyre+ wheels but that can be a huge upfront expense) or the setup of drive to the track, do the sessions and drive back on the same set inspire enough confidence ?

Same for the vRS too , I know it's OT but if you don't mind stupid:

Cheers
Krishna

Thanks, yeah the steering inputs modulation and strong braking are two things I need to work on in the next session. The biggest change is the driving style switch from road to track, cant apply the same principles.

Yes I'm aware and pretty sure I was in MDM Mode. I think this case was purely driver error

Thanks. How much tyre you burn is hugely variable depending on driving styles. If you were to slide at almost every corner and be a hooligan on track, you'll easily run through a set in one session.

I did a quick tyre depth check this morning and haven't burnt too much, so I'm ok for now. Yesterday I didnt drive that many laps too because of the shorter session.

I'm curious to see how much I consume myself, so until I run through a set or two, wont know how much and what is the best approach (keeping a spare set of tyres/wheels). For now, its driving on the same set for both road and track.

Next session's experience will shed more light on this topic, I'll come back and update here :)

Nice outing Reesnat! Using the cars very well indeed.

Any reference lap time for both the cars? Would be a great piece of info to have and then with every change you make (settings or otherwise), things might get better or worse and be easier to track too. Videos would have been very spicy. :)

I've been there! Inadequate skills, car (City VTEC Type 2) and tyres (Goodyears!) meant that I burnt the passenger front tyre in 7 laps (the wire reinforcements was popping out!)

I wasn't timing all the laps as it was my first time with the car on track, but on a couple of laps I tried the BMW M Laptimer app and it recorded a 2:05. For reference, Narain Karthikeyan did a 1.56 on a BMW M4 and M5. So my goal for next session is to break the 2 minute mark :)

Oh wow, thankfully I havent killed the tyres much. I would have done about 10-12 laps only on that day. Next session hoping to do about 25-30 laps, lets see how the tyres hold up after that.

Report from the second track day with the M2C (yesterday):

Absolute blast of a day! Got a full session in and the car performed flawlessly throughout the day with no fatigue what so ever. Managed to learn the car a bit more, and refine my skills a bit more. My best lap time was a 1.59.90 - I was hoping to break the 2 minute mark in this session and managed to do that right at the end, happy with the progress.



Throughout the day I was doing taxi drives with a bunch of different vRS group buddies who came along for the experience. We also had an M5C as part of our group (beastly power). Learning your limits and the car's was so much fun!

With regards to wear and tear, the Pilot Super Sport actually held up very well - I checked the tyre tread post session and lost about 1.5mm, not too bad overall, considering my amateur driving skills would be putting a whole lot more load on the tyres and brakes. As my skills improve, I expect the wear to be lesser.

Overall, the learning and fun with the car keeps getting better and better!

ps: had a lot of people compliment the color and how the car looked, so that was a nice cherry on top :D

Reesnat - You missed mentioning your awesome sounding Akrapovic exhaust :Cheering: That was the actual cherry on top.
What a car!!! Thorougly enjoyed riding shotgun with you.

From 2.05 to under 2 is a massive improvement. Where was the time gain primarily?

Shh, not ready to talk about that yet ;) Detailed report for it after I've lived with it for a bit.

All over! Learning to manage and control that kind of speed and getting smoother with steering and harder with brakes. I know where I need to work on to gain, hoping I can shave off a couple of seconds in the next session.

Most imortantly is with this second session I've started to get a better idea of the limits of the car and my own skill.

But its still very possible to spin out in MDM if the car is pushed too hard.

Hi Reesnat,

I'm just writing to tell you that this thread made me join Team BHP. I am a new member. I know there is a section to introduce yourself, but I don't have enough to say to warrant a post there.

I've been dreaming of owning an M2C ever since I read this thread. I would check it frequently to look for something that would make me desire it less, but haven't yet found anything :-)

I was in discussions with a dealer in Mumbai, who was willing to offer an M2C at a good price. There was one unit left in Chennai without the M-sport seats, without the optional alloy wheels, without Apple Carplay but *with* the Harmon Kardon sound system. Also, it was in Long Beach Blue which is just too in-your-face for my tastes. This is the exact opposite of the configuration I would have wanted, but they were eager to move the unit and so had offered a decent price. All in, it could have come in at under 1 Cr on-road.

I could have just about done it at that price, with the right financing. But having done it, our finances would have been stretched in every other dimension. I would have had to think twice before taking my family out to a really nice meal and would have had almost no savings for some years.

I am still on the fence. It sounds silly, but I wake up thinking about this car, I go to sleep thinking about this car. With COVID around, I'm just not sure I have the stomach to do something this financially risky. My wife has just quit her job and so I'm more inclined to play it safe. The car was also not quite what I would have wanted. My spec would have been much closer to yours -- Hockenheim Silver and M Sport seats at the very least.

I know the M2C's production run is almost over, but I might still spring for it if I can build up the courage or if some financial constraints ease slightly. I still worry that the cost of maintenance will be high, and that it may still be imprudent, but the level of passion for this car is not something I've felt before.

Thanks again for sharing your experience and congratulations on being able to enjoy something so amazing.