Bring on the fun with BMW

Coming complete with what BMW has branded as Smokey Burnout Mode — promising to unlock the potential for copious power sliding — the small saloon will be able to hit 62mph in 4.3 seconds and an electronically-limited 155mph top speed.

A rev-matching function, meanwhile, should flatter drivers with sweet down-shifts from the six-speed manual gearbox that comes as standard.

The Stuttgart-based brand has chosen to power its latest M car with a three-litre, six-cylinder, turbocharged engine, accompanying its peak power output with a formidable 369lb.ft. of torque.

Going head-to-head with the likes of Audi’s RS 3 and the Mercedes A45 AMG, the new M car will be priced from £44,070 when it goes on sale in April next year.

It follows in the footsteps of a long line of compact BMW sports coupes, such as the 2002 Turbo, E30 M3 and 1M Coupé.  

A BMW spokesman said: “It continues the tradition of the legendary original BMW M3 – the E30 from 1986 – a car famed for its blend of agility and precision, as well as its supremacy on the racing circuit and rally stage.

“Looking further back, the M2 can also be seen as a close descendant of a car from 40 years ago: the BMW 2002 turbo, which was the first mass-produced turbocharged car offered for sale in Germany.

“With 170hp and a zero to 62mph time of 8.9 seconds, the performance may have been some way off the new M2, but the spirit of driver enjoyment is the same.”