Man Maths: BMW M2 (F87)

They were huge fun to drive, those early M2s. Agile, responsive, beautifully balanced – you won’t find a more benign drift car at any money. They were also effortless in normal use with a reasonable ride, fantastic seats and an excellent cabin. The M2 was the sort of car you just enjoyed being aboard.

Most of the time, at least. I remember taking one to the North York Moors one winter, when the ambient temperature never rose above freezing and the road surface remained damp all day. The Blakey Ridge road is tricky at the best of times, but in such conditions its endless turns and constant yumps will put any car’s chassis to the test.

There were a couple of issues with the M2. The first was its torque delivery, combined with the aggressive characteristics of its limited-slip differential – particularly on a slippery surface with rock hard and ice cold tyres. Apply a bit too much throttle and the rear axle would light up in an instant, and with no warning, even when you’d left the electronic systems fully on.

The second problem was its wayward body control over crests. As the road finally dropped away again, the car’s weight would seemingly continue to rise, so you’d have this horrible heart-in-mouth moment when you thought you were going to be flung off the road altogether. It never came to that, but the feeling that it might and the sudden loss of traction at times meant you would never settle into a rhythm in that car on that road.

But it really did take conditions like those and a road like that to unearth such flaws. The rest of the time it was fun, stable, trustworthy and endlessly playful. By the time the M2 Competition arrived in 2018, those less endearing tendencies had been ironed out – if you can afford the extra £8000 or so that you’ll need to get one, you really should.

All first-generation M2s appear to be durable and reliable and should not cost a fortune to run. Better still, there are tonnes out there, so you can be choosy on spec, colour, mileage and condition. The majority have the dual-clutch gearbox, but there are manuals available too.

I absolutely would if I could. But I wouldn’t be in a hurry to take mine to Blakey Ridge in January.

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