The BMW M2 and the RR superbike now share a badge
There’s an expressive connection between cars and motorbikes, but also a never-ending debate over which offers more feel or outright, effortless speed. Four wheels versus two. Sensibility versus freedom. There’s no one right answer, as both stir different variations of what boils down to the same feeling.
BMW M and BMW Motorrad have always understood this feeling, or call it a connection, better than most marques. This may be why it took a market such as ours to finally make the connection official. Enter the BMW M2 Coupe RR Edition and M 1000 RR M2 Edition (including the S 1000 RR M2 Edition).
In a branding exercise exclusive to the South African market, BMW released 10 cars and 10 bikes that share some strands of the same DNA. On two wheels, the S 1000 RR M2 Edition opens the range in Black Storm Metallic, with red detailing on the front fairing, passenger seat cover, and wheels, plus a tinted windscreen and an M-embossed seat. The M 1000 RR M2 Edition gets the full M treatment: red accents on the carbon M wheel rims, the fuel tank, the front fairings, and the front M winglets, with the RR insignia in red.
Both bikes remain mechanically unchanged and standard, but both add Akrapovič exhaust systems.
On four wheels, the BMW M2 Coupé RR Edition is the more involved package. The 3.0-litre 6-cylinder engine with 353kW and 600Nm stays untouched. This edition adds M Performance suspension, lowering the car by 20mm. It has red springs, 20/21-inch Jet Black M Performance wheels, and an Akrapovič exhaust developed specifically for this car. Black splitters front and rear feature red inserts, and the boot gets a flow-through spoiler with a red accent stripe.
Inside, black seats with red bolsters and red contrast stitching finish the job, and a sunroof is standard on the M2 Coupé. When these cars launch in the fourth quarter, there will be five manual and five M Steptronic units. As for the motorbikes, the S 1000 RR M2 Edition is priced at R406,950, and the M 1000 RR M2 Edition at R882,100. The M2’s pricing will be confirmed at launch.
It’s a proper local story that exists nowhere else on the planet. It’s built on the premise that in South Africa, enthusiasts don’t separate their passions by wheel count. The M2 and the RR have always occupied similar emotional territory, and now they share a badge.
