People of France, this is your BMW M2 ‘Heritage Edition’

Don’t get too excited, this one’s only going to France, and in very limited numbers. It is the BMW M2 Competition Heritage Edition, and it wants to celebrate/cash in (tom-ay-to/tom-ah-to) on the glorious 2002 Turbo.

Because it’s been nearly 50 years since the 2002 Turbo first enlivened the world’s lives with its presence; a four-cylinder BMW that helped cement Bee-Em’s reputation as a purveyor of fine driving machines. Probably a tag line in that, somewhere…

BMW will only make 40 of these special edition M2 Competition cars (which replaced the regular M2 last year). Over and above the Competition spec – a twin turbo, detuned BMW M4 engine with 404bhp, bigger brakes, tweaked steering, returned stability control and so on – you get lots and lots of carbon accessories. Things like the side fins, grille, mirror hulls, rear diffuser, exhaust tips, front blade and rear spoiler.

Then come BMW’s famous motorsport colours, emblazoned across the sides and front bumper like all self-respecting 318is masquerading as M3s. And in all honesty, it looks rather good. The M2 Competition is already a fabulous car, so adding a splash of motorsport credibility to it doesn’t hurt. At least we don’t think it does.

Prices? They start at €75,000, which is around £65k. And that equates to around £15k more than a standard M2 Competition, at which point it starts to look a little overpriced. But you may disagree. Have a scan through the pics and let us know…

Want to know just how good the BMW M2 Competition is? Read TopGear.com's full review here.