By the time this hits your inbox, Satch Carlson will be at the wheel of the BMW XM in Phoenix. (“It’s a filthy job, but somebody has to do it!” he laughed as he got on the plane, leaving the rest of us here to, you know, work.) And for dessert, BMW has trotted out the latest M2. (“It’s a filthy—” Oh, shut up.)
Let’s see: Start with a twin-turbo V8 that puts out more than 480 horsepower, then drop in an electric motor that adds another 190-plus, for a grand total of 644 slathering ponies—and 590 pound-feet of torque. Of course, Satch is aiming for a Roundel magazine story, but we made him promise on-the-spot reports.
There’s a press embargo on some of this information, but at least we’ll know whether he managed to find the hotel. Look for exclusive coverage from Arizona on BimmerLife of these two additions to the M family, and come back for a full XM driving impression on Saturday!
The second-gen M2 boasts 453 horses, two turbos, and six speeds in the manual transmission. Be still, my heart!