According to BMW’s own press release, the new BMW M2 Competition ‘represents a complete reworking of a car that, in its original incarnation, was already a class-leading sports car. A new powerplant boasts a substantial jump in power compared to the previous engine, while changes to the steering, braking system, exhaust and suspension are all wrapped in a revised exterior design that has been enhanced for aerodynamic efficiency.’

But they are bound to say that, they built the thing. It’s more important to find out what the critics think, the new M2 Competition has only been known about for a few weeks, but we’ve found the five most popular reviews to get the early verdict.

Evo.co.uk said: ‘BMW’s new M2 Competition is arguably the car the M2 should have been from the start. There’s a sense, poring over the car’s details in the studio and jotting down all the changes, that this is the car the engineers wanted to build all along, squeezing as much M4 into the 2-series’ compact form as possible.’

Topgear.com said: ‘It’d be very easy to argue the BMW M2 needed no such reworking; it’s a mega little sports coupe and a bruising alternative to an Audi TT RS or Porsche 718 Cayman. But the list of tweaks leave us feeling assured BMW hasn’t ruined the recipe, it’s just lobbed in a load of scotch bonnets to make it punchier than ever.’

Autocar.co.uk said: ‘The M2 never felt like it was that far away from being all it could be though. But that hasn’t prevented BMW from making a host of changes to it anyway. The power increase isn’t such a biggie – it had plenty before and retains it now – but the chassis changes will be interesting.’

Carbuyer.co.uk said: ‘The BMW M2 – now on sale for two years – rivals the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG CLA 45, as well as the Porshche Cayman. The M2 Competition promises to add extra bite to the most compact 'M' car you can buy, distancing it from increasingly capable hot hatchbacks like the SEAT Cupra R and Honda Civic Type R that snap at the M2's heels.’

Drive.com.au said: ‘The M2 Competition adopts a number of visual upgrades over the two-year-old model it replaces, giving it a more aggressive appearance along with added cooling efficiency required by its new engine.’

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