Expensive? Yes.
Worth it?
Sorry, next question.
Yep, it's stupid worth it. The M2 Competition is almost comically excellent. Superb at quite possibly every level, exhilarating in the manner of small masterpieces, and sort of in a league of its own.
It's also a glorious throwback. The whole reason that BMW is BMW involved, you know, that whole "ultimate driving machine" business. And the M2 Competition is ultimately a magnificent driving machine. But it fulfills that responsibility by evoking the BMW cars of yore, which were wonderful tossable little things that thrilled rather than intimidated.
The BMW M3 is too aggressive, and the M5 is downright terrifying. The M4 is a Teutonic muscle car. But the M2 Competition is inviting, with a horsepower bump on the M2 that's pretty much spot-on (the M2 C's 405 hp is a modest retreat from the M4's 425 hp, but obviously with the M2 C you have crossed the 400hp barrier, and you can tell).
This is a car you want to drive in a spirited manner at every opportunity. A racetrack would be perfect, but a curving offramp will do nicely. Honestly, I had plenty of fun making left turns at 25 mph. Stomping on it while negotiating the freeway is joyful. The steering isn't heavy, but it isn't light either — it's easy to establish a connection with the road, even on winter tires! The brakes are a secret weapon, as they should be in a car that can blast from 0-60 mph in four seconds.
Overall, the M2 is tight as a snare drum — but gutsier than the M2. It's simply more M, and more M is good. Diving into corners, you know that you have just that much more throttle to power around and out, and if you get frisky with the wheel, the oversteer is ready to put a smile on your face.
Small and kind of mean, the M2 Comp is an attack terrier on the hunt for its preferred prey, winding roads — no question about. You can configure a pair of special M-buttons on the steering wheel flick between custom drive modes. As far as modes go, I favored Sport mode, for the most part, but Sport-Plus supplies the most wide-open exhaust note, tightest steering, and the most aggressive transmission response. In that mode, flicking through the gears in manual mode can really kick you in the tail.
In many ways, the M2 Competition is the purist's Bimmer. You can get into most of the horsepower, the wee beast is tossable but never unstable, and the engine is a wonder, but the car isn't versatile enough to confuse anyone about its purpose.
The whole point here is to drive. And drive. And drive some more. The ultimate what machine? That's right: the M2 Competition is it, and how!