What's the news?
You know the drill by now - a car is reaching the end of its sales life, so the marketing team starts diving into the accessories catalogue, and chucks everything it can find at the car, super-glueing all the options on in an attempt to drum up some last-minute interest in a fading star.
Ummm. Yeah. This isn't that.
Well, not quite. This is the BMW M Performance Parts Concept, and it's based on a BMW M2. A car which is approaching the end of its sales life. And, yes, this one has had the entire accessories catalogue thrown at it and almost everything has stuck. But, BMW being BMW, this one is a little more serious than that...
For a start, this is not just about accessories, it's about engineering. Some 60kg of weight has been stripped from this M2, and as BMW puts it: "The result is a lower vehicle weight and therefore further optimised driving dynamics - and this applies on the race track, too. The overall effect is achieved by a range of individual measures - the use of carbon fibre has a particularly important role to play."
The carbon parts include M Performance Carbon front radiator grille (which is expected to actually go on sale as an option this summer), and the the M Performance Carbon bonnet (ditto). That bonnet alone saves some 8kg of overall weight. Another 3kg is gone thanks to M Performance carbon fibre front side panels (on sale in November), and there are carbon fibre front winglets and the carbon fibre side sill winglets which, on the concept, come in a gorgeous shimmering gold-effect finish.
Fancy the M Performance carbon fibre roof? Then good news; it's going to be available from early next year and that chucks another 6kg into the bin, plus it lowers the centre of gravity a bit. Want to save another 6kg per wheel? Then go for the 19-inch M Performance forged wheel Y-spoke 763M in 'Frozen Gold' which do just that, and are fitted with track-day-friendly semi-slick tyres.
What about the boot? Yup, you can have that in carbon too, and that's another 5kg down, while the rear diffuser, if you go for this carbon one (also finished in gold on the concept) sees another half-a-kilo saved.
You can save 9kg inside the cabin, by going for the M Performance carbon fibre sport seats, which are swathed in Alcantara suede, and also get a subtle gold trim-line in the concept car. A whopping 13kg is saved by going for the M Performance lightweight rear seats, with their gold seam finish, and lasered M logo. There's more Alcantara on the M Performance steering wheel Pro, and even on the handbrake, while the velour floor mats also get their own gold seam finish.
You want some more serious engineering? How about coilover M Performance suspension, dropped by 20mm compared to standard, with dampers that are adjustable through 12 different compression stages and 16 different rebound stages. The calipers for the massive 18-inch brakes are finished in black, and there's more weight saving in the shape of a lighter battery, which lops another 14kg off the total.