This Is The New (Hopefully RWD) BMW 2-Series

With the arrival of the predominantly front-wheel drive 2-series Gran Coupe, you might be worried about what that means for the non-Gran version. There’s no need to fret, however - the word is that BMW will underpin the next-gen two-door 2er with the Cluster Architecture (CLAR) platform also used for the 3-series, which means it’ll have a longitudinally-mounted engine powering the rear wheels. Happy days.

We have already seen leaked images showing the front and rear of the 2-series coupe, but now, a full set of spy shots have landed in our inbox giving us a good idea of the car’s silhouette.

Much like the current model, the front and rear overhangs are short, giving a nicely compact look. The front and rear arches already look to be fairly wide - these will be blistered further once the M Division use the car as a basis for the next M2. We’re not especially keen on the trapezoidal exhaust trims, but overall, it’s looking promising.

The engine line-up shouldn’t diverge much from the ‘F22’ 2er. This means we’ll probably be getting an entry-level 1.5-litre triple-powered 218i at the bottom of the range, inline-four petrol-powered 220i and 230i models, and a diesel inline-four propelling the 218d and 220d.

At the top of the range, there are two possible directions BMW might take. We could get another M240i, powered by a B58 inline-six, or the M235i GC’s 302bhp inline-four might be dropped in instead.

If it ends up being the latter, anyone hankering for six-cylinder 2-series kicks will need to go for the M2, which looks set to use a detuned version of the next M3’s S58 engine.

The 2-series range will debut at some point in 2021, with the M2 likely following the year after.