BMW’s M2 Dakar Concept Is So Good It Hurts That It’s Just An April Fool’s Joke
Lifted suspension, reshaped bumper for better approach angle and a roof basket full of spares suit the smallest M car perfectly
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by Chris Chilton
BMW has dropped a set of images of an off-road-ready M2 Dakar.
The coupe gets extra ground clearance and big rear wheelarch vents.
Sadly, the go-anywhere Dakar is just a BMW April Fool’s Day prank.
Every year certain automakers like to tease us with April Fool’s Day stories that are often just plain silly. Isuzu entering the fragrance market and Fiat making a 500e “Parmigiano Edition” with a grille that doubles as a cheese grater come to mind. But sometimes the ideas are too damn good to be joked about. The BMW M2 Dakar is one of those.
BMW dropped a bunch of images on Instagram today of a lifted M2 coupe on off-road tires and featuring some bodywork mods designed to improve its approach and departure angles. Critics of the stock M2’s design might even say the baby M car looks better without its clumsy standard front bumper.
Related: BMW Engineers Built An Electric M2 Prototype To Impress The Board Of Management
The front and rear fenders have giant vents cut into them to provide cooling for the brakes in the hot desert playground and there are front and rear skid plates to protect the 473 hp (480 PS) 3.0-liter inline six and limited slip differential. And since no off-road car – especially not one named after one of the world’s toughest rallies – is complete without some spares, the M2 Dakar has a roof basket containing a spare wheel and an emergency fuel can.
A decade ago we might have laughed at the absurdity of something like the M2 Dakar, but in the wake of genuine production machines like the Porsche 911 Dakar we can imagine a few people seeing BMW’s Instagram post and thinking it’s the real deal. But sadly, it’s almost certainly not.
Image credit: BMW M
BMW isn’t the first automaker that’s attempted to prank us with a lifted sports car. Last year, Subaru of New England’s April Fool’s prank was a BRZ Wilderness equipped with symmetrical all-wheel drive. Though come to think of it, BRZ sales are so bad maybe it would have been worth Subaru trying to build a few.
Do you think BMW should build and sell an M2 Dakar, or do you think the trend for off-road sports cars is just plain dumb? Leave a comment and let us know.
Chris Chilton
Senior Editor
Chris is a seasoned automotive journalist with over two decades of experience. He has worked...
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