Video: BMW M850i marginally faster than M2 Competition on Laguna Seca

We recently saw a couple of head-to-head races from Motor Trend’s recent Best Driver’s Car competition. One featured the BMW M2 Competition and the Toyota …

With all the diversification BMW has been planning and working on for its model range, when it comes to 2-door Coupe models you don’t have a lot of choices. There’s the 2 Series and there’s the 8 Series and that’s about it. I intentionally left the 4 Series out of discussion because it’s bound to get a new version this year and sales have been slumping. Therefore, if you want a stylish and powerful 2-door coupe, you might be looking at the M2 Competition or the M850i xDrive.

Both cars have been included in last year’s Best Driver’s Car competition held by the guys from MotorTrend. As a matter of fact, BMW was the only manufacturer with two cars on the roster, three if you count the Toyota Supra. The M2 Competition and the BMW M850i xDrive might be at totally different ends of the spectrum but, as Randy Pobst showed, they are really close on the track. How close you ask?

Both cars were driven on Laguna Seca by Randy Pobst, the usual driver who tests cars for MotorTrend. Both had similar weather conditions and both were run completely stock, including the standard tires. The BMW M2 Competition‘s fastest lap was clocked at 1:40.83 while the BMW M850i xDrive went around the same track in 1:39.40. Notice anything? The two are separated by just about a second.

That’s really close and, looking at the price tags, you might wonder why. Well, they are created for entirely different demographics. The BMW M2 Competition is meant to deliver more performance for the buck than any other car in the BMW line-up.

It will deliver on the thrill scale, but it will have to do it by leaving some luxury amenities to the side. Its interior is spartan and the technology offered on board is already old. That’s not the point though. The M2 Competition is aimed at those looking for a simple, fun ride.

The BMW M850i xDrive on the other hand is also extremely impressive. That’s because it manages to beat the M2 Competition at its own game, despite having to carry around considerably more weight. The two are seriously far apart in terms of dimensions and yet the 8er delivers incredible performance. Sure, the extra 120 HP under the hood help out a bit as does the integral steering but this just goes to show how far technology has come.