At this point, calling the BMW M2 xDrive a rumor feels almost insulting — the thing has been an open secret for years. But BMW USA may have just made it all but official, and in the most accidental way possible.
A listing for a 2027 BMW M2 xDrive has appeared on shop.bmwusa.com, BMW’s online storefront. The page is bare — no specs, no pricing, no photos, no configurator options — just the model name sitting there, quietly confirming what enthusiasts have been expecting for some time. Whether this was an intentional soft tease or a staging page that got pushed live before its time, the result is the same: BMW of North America has a live page with “M2 xDrive” in it.
Not Exactly a Surprise
For anyone following BMW M closely, this is less of a bombshell and more of a formality. The M2 xDrive has been in the pipeline — openly, audibly, barely-a-secret — for well over two years. We broke early ground on this story back in mid-2023, reporting that an M2 xDrive was likely to arrive around 2026. Then in March 2025, we reported that BMW M2 xDrive is coming in 2026 and the RWD manual M2 won’t be killed off — a crucial detail for purists who feared the worst.
By June 2025, BMW’s own executives were barely hiding it. Dirk Häcker, BMW M’s head of R&D, told us that xDrive for the M2 “could happen,” while VP Sylvia Neubauer went a step further, saying they’d been test driving M2 xDrive prototypes and that they were “a lot of fun.” By July, insider power figures had reportedly leaked.
So yes — BMW “accidentally” confirming it via a placeholder shop page is a bit like accidentally confirming the sun rises in the east.
What We Know About the M2 xDrive
Based on our reporting over the past year, here’s where things stand:
Production is expected to begin in August 2026, with a world premiere likely in late spring or early summer of that year. Importantly, the xDrive variant is not expected to carry a “Competition” badge — it’ll simply be the M2 xDrive.
The S58 engine gets a bump. The S58 will be retuned to produce around 475 horsepower — a meaningful step up. Torque figures could be around 650 Nm (479 lb-ft). It will be automatic-only. The M2 xDrive will come exclusively with an eight-speed Steptronic transmission — which makes sense given the torque demands of the AWD system. However, and this is worth repeating: BMW is keeping the rear-wheel-drive, six-speed manual M2 alive alongside it. The two will coexist in the lineup, catering to different types of M car enthusiast.
There will be a weight penalty. BMW’s xDrive hardware has historically added 50–75 kg (110–165 lbs) to a vehicle’s curb weight, which would push the M2 xDrive close to — or perhaps just over — 1,800 kg. That’s a meaningful number for a car that’s always prided itself on being the compact, chuckable M car.
Visually, don’t expect drama. Sources suggest BMW isn’t planning any redesign for the AWD variant — the M2 xDrive will look virtually identical to its RWD sibling, though unique badging or subtle exterior cues may differentiate the two.
It’s part of a massive BMW M offensive. As we reported just this month, BMW M is planning to launch 30 cars by 2029. The M2 xDrive almost certainly counts among them, and current-generation M2 (G87) production is expected to run until July 2029, giving the xDrive variant a solid lifecycle.
So What Does the Shop Page Mean?
The presence of a 2027 model year designation on the BMW USA shop page is interesting. BMW M2 production for the xDrive variant is reportedly slated to begin in August 2026, which would make a 2027 model year designation entirely logical for North American sales. It also suggests BMW USA’s internal systems are already set up for the car — inventory codes, configurator frameworks, and product pages don’t get built without significant internal alignment.
Was this an accident? Possibly. A staging page that escaped into the wild is a familiar story in automotive circles. Either way, the M2 xDrive is real, it’s coming, and BMW’s own website just said so. The only question now is when we get to see the real thing.
First published by https://bit.ly/3sM6JoH
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