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Check out the vlog:

Some more pics!

I hope you all like it as much as we do. This is just the beginning for the G87 M2. Full kit renderings coming soon!

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This week, the talented technicians at Tom Wrigley Performance remove the engine and drivetrain so we can assess exactly what parts will be needed and what alterations we need to make to convert the G87 M2 to xDrive.

The way I just said “removed the engine and drivetrain” made it sound like a pretty simple task. It’s a very systemised and routine job for the guys at Tom Wrigley Performance. However, its no easy feat for the average mechanic who doesn’t have years of BMW main dealer knowledge and experience.

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WHY XDRIVE SWAP THE M2?

But, before we get into the teardown, you may be wondering why we are xDrive-swapping an M2 in the first place. Besides, BMW made the G87 to be the smaller, more nimble and engaging driver’s car. Isn’t rear wheel drive the perfect setup?

The answer, simply, is traction. If we’re aiming to make this one of the fastest BMWs in the world with upwards of 1400+ bhp, a rear wheel drive layout just couldn’t transfer all that power to the road, especially from a dig in the quarter mile. Rear wheel drive may be okay for 100-200kph/60-130mph times but not drag racing at this level of power.

You may have seen the fastest BMW from Texas 2K24 earlier this year was a 1500 bhp G42 M240i with a quarter mile time of 7.9 seconds with the xDrive setup and drag tires playing a major role in achieving those ridiculous times – Built by Shop CT.

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1500HP AWD G42 M240i – 7.9 1/4

I can already sense many of you thinking “then, why not just start with a G82 M4 xDrive or G42 M240i”?

There are a few reasons for this…

Number one is the fact that the G87 is slightly lighter than the G82. Only circa 30-50kg (spec-dependent) but every little helps. Secondly, there will be no other M2 like it. As a company and as enthusiasts, we just want to create something unique. We’re unlikely to find enough people crazy enough to start retailing G87 M2 xDrive packages. This is a challenge to show what ourselves and Tom Wrigley Performance can achieve.

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Anyway, back to the build.

After first getting the car up on the ramp, the underside and drivetrain all looked relatively similar to the other G8X vehicles. Something we noticed immediately was that the propshaft would need to be a fair bit shorter than the one you’d find on a G82. The drive flange on the back of the transmission also appeared to be a different design which would be a hurdle to overcome. The only way to tell for sure was to drop the engine and gearbox out of the car to have a closer look.

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Rob, ex-BMW main dealer tech & general BMW wizard, jumped on the computer to make a shopping list of new bits we’d need as well as items that already cross over from rear wheel drive to xDrive cars.

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Something interesting Rob pointed out from the get-go: the front anti-roll bar is the same on the rear wheel drive M2 and the G82 M4 xDrive. This either means BMW is cost-saving by having only one part number OR this could be a clue that BMW plans on releasing an xDrive version of the M2 in the future, likely the M2 CS. The latter wouldn’t be great for us so we better get cracking and beat BMW to it.

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Parts that we needed for the xDrive swap include new front hubs, shocks, suspension arms, drive shafts, a front prop shaft, an xDrive steering rack + arms + track rod ends, steering column, backing plate, front differential, new arch liners with space for the new front driveshafts as well as various sensors and hardware.

In addition to that, we needed a new ZF HP76 gearbox and of course the transfer case for xDrive. We were hoping that we could attach the transfer case to our existing rear wheel drive gearbox as xDrive cars use the same 8-speed ZF HP76 unit. Unfortunately, the design of the drive flange is different on the rear-wheel drive HP76, meaning you’d either have to modify it or swap the transmission completely. We opted to swap it completely as we already had a complete donor drivetrain from a G82 M4 xDrive. We would then keep the existing mechatronics unit already coded to our G87 and put that into the new gearbox.

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To put it simply, we’d be taking the brain (mechatronics unit) from our original rear wheel drive gearbox and putting it in the new xDrive gearbox. The mechatronics is already pre-coded to our car so there’s nothing to worry about on that front. What we will need to code, however, is the transfer case but we’ll cross that bridge at a later date.

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In around 90 minutes, the guys at Tom Wrigley Performance had the engine and drivetrain out of the car. They prefer to drop the whole thing out as one unit to make things easier for them.

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WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS?

With the engine and gearbox now out of the car (yes, we found it quite painful to see our 1-year-old G87 M2 in this state), the guys began the xDrive swap along with installing the new front suspension components and giving a few other components a refresh with brand new OEM parts.

The next step is to get the new xDrive running gear and engine back in the car and see how many wheels decide to turn. Undoubtedly there will be some sort of serious issue as the conversion has gone too smoothly for us so far.

I know many of you will be eager to know whether our efforts were a success or a massive waste of time but you’ll have to wait until the next episode of the series. A couple of big ‘unknowns’ for us still are the front prop shaft and coding the transfer case which will likely require some specialist help.

It’s important to note that we don’t know anyone who has successfully xDrive-converted a G87, meaning we’re figuring everything out as we go along. We’ve seen many people on forums saying it isn’t even possible.

If you want to see a different angle of the build, feel free to check out EP.1 and 2 of our newest docu-series on YouTube.

EP.1 Where it all Started?

EP.2 How to build an xDrive G87 M2 https://youtu.be/UCmp8qlaRmU

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Time flies. We’re already 1 year into production of the BMW G87 M2. More and more modifications are popping up left, right and center + the builds are starting to get crazier and more adventurous.

Today, we wanted to share this very unique example – the first bagged 2024 G87 M2 we’ve seen courtesy of Air Lift’s 3H air suspension system. Now, we’re well aware that air suspension isn’t to everyone’s taste but you must admit… it does look damn cool. Plus, if you love the slammed look but also enjoy driving to places without taking your front lip off, bags are 100% the answer.

Installed by https://caraudiosecurity.com/

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Sitting beneath the air ride suspension, you’ll find a set of BBS LMR 3-piece split alloy wheels which are a true work of art and look perfect next to the car’s black sapphire paintwork.

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At the front of the car, the first things that stand out are the CSL-yellow daytime running light modules. The contrast with the vehicle’s dark paintwork make these a welcome addition to the build. A bit of color on an otherwise dark vehicle really livens things up – a theme that continues around the rear of the car. More on that shortly.

Sitting below, the car is running a carbon fiber Edition 1 front splitter as part of the full Edition 1 carbon kit from MHC LDN. Fun fact: this was the first carbon kit available for the G87 M2 and it still looks perfect 1 year on. The G87 M2 has quite a square front bumper which makes designing a good looking front lip quite challenging. Nevertheless, MHC’s designers did an amazing job https://r44performance.com/collectio…on-fibre-parts

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If you look really closely, you’ll spot that the gloss black center section of the front bumper has been swapped for a carbon version. This is a new piece to the MHC catalog and we think it will be quite a popular mod for G87 owners. Naturally, the owner also opted for the carbon fiber front ducts to finish off the front end

https://r44performance.com/products/…d6fdcdf8&_ss=r

https://r44performance.com/products/…s&_ss=e&_v=1.0

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Moving around the side of the car, we find the MHC LDN Edition 1 side skirts which feature a subtle recess towards the flared rear wheel arch. The only other bits to mention on the side of the vehicle are the carbon fiber mirror covers which look more premium than OEM. All carbon fiber styling parts from MHC LDN are manufactured from pre-preg carbon with an OEM-style weave, fitment guarantee and 3-year warranty. Whilst it’s a more expensive option than wet-laid carbon, you can be confident in the quality, fitment and longevity.

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https://r44performance.com/products/…1&_ss=e&_v=1.0

The rear of the car is really where the magic happens. Not only is there the 3rd and final component of the Edition 1 carbon kit in the form of the 3-piece rear diffuser, but you’ll most definitely notice the Maxton Design carbon rear wing with the integrated dynamic LED light bar. This is the modification that really makes this G87 stand out. The light bar sweeps and flashes which gets everyone’s attention at shows and on the road.

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https://r44performance.com/products/…g&_ss=e&_v=1.0

You’ll be excited to see this example was specified with the track pack carbon fiber bucket seats from the factory – a highly desired optional extra. The owner has added a subtle genuine M Performance alcantara armrest in the interior which is a nice touch.

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https://r44performance.com/products/…t&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Performance-wise, the car is pretty much standard. It’s running a Milltek Sport OPF-back exhaust system which gives the car a bit of a deeper tone but, other than that, it’s business as usual. For those of you outside of Europe, OPFs are some petrol particulate filters mandatory in the EU market for emissions reasons. Despite how much they strangle the whole exhaust setup, the owner of this car, along with many, has chosen not to remove them to keep the car completely street-legal.

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https://r44performance.com/products/…2&_ss=e&_v=1.0

Let us know what you think of this build. Is it the sort of style you’d go for, or do you prefer a more track-focused or clubsport vibe?

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Check out the YouTube Feature now!

Lets start off with a 2023 BSM M2 getting a set of Ohlins Road & Track Coilovers, the first of many mods to come for this build:

2023 Black Sapphire Metallic G87 M2
– Ohlins Road & Track Coilovers

Having turned our G87 M2 into a mini M4 CSL with the use of a selection of genuine M4 CSL parts and aftermarket upgrades its time to see just how good the car is on a race circuit.

But not just any circuit, were heading over to the Nürburgring to put our creation to the test where BMW M developed the M4 CSL themselves!

Before doing that, there was a few upgrades we wanted to do to add a little more personality and reliability on top. So we fit the Eventuri Full Carbon Fibre Intake, an Eisenmann Exhaust and a CSF Oil Cooler.

Here’s the look of the older “JDM Style” version of my car.

Besides the new color, quite a few new parts have been added as well, here are the complete mods list of my current version of the build.

Active Autowerke EL midpipe
Custom made T309 muffler
KW HAS
BBS RID custom painted in Studie AG Gold
Endless MX87 pads (changing to Brembo TS20 soon)
Recaro Podium with custom houndstooth and alcantara inserts
Alpha N style front CF bonnet
CSL style CF boot
Vorsteiner front grille
MHC SP2 front lip
Karbel Canards
Yellow DRL
3D Design side skirt
Future Design rear diffuser
CSL style taillights
Eventuri intake
CF strut bar
Full CF engine bay covers
Downstar dress-up bolts
Golden Wrench cap cover sets
G8X LCI steering wheel (OTW, hopefully can arrive in next 2 weeks)

As always, huge thanks to SouthernBM for all the amazing works!

Enough with the talk, enjoy some photos of my new burgundy G82 build! Hope you guys like it!