Meet AC Schnitzer’s 562bhp BMW M235i

Red and green should never be seen, apparently, unless of course, you are an Irish queen. Or this modified BMW M235i.

Though it stopped being an M235i once legendary Beemer tuner AC Schnitzer got its hands on the little coupe. It is now the ACL2, and with more power than a standard-issue M5, it’s a mean little thing.

It will be unveiled in Geneva, but before it lands in Switzerland, here’s a quick rundown...

Out goes the M235i’s sixer, replaced by the 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder you’ll find in the BMW M4, packed with AC Schnitzer’s performance upgrade. This includes a new ECU, an optimised carbon intake, a lightweight battery, a Drexler locking differential, and a full AC Schnitzer sports exhaust.

The result? A full 562bhp. As much as the original Ferrari 458 Italia had…

Again, another hack from its M4 big brother. It gets the axles of that bigger coupe, along with height-adjustable AC Schnitzer Clubsport suspension. Then come new support bearings, as well as the M4’s carbon strut braces.

Naturally, all of this was trialled on… you guessed it, the Nürburgring.

You might have spotted a new set of kicks for the HulkBeemer. There are Schnitzer’s forged AC1 alloys in anodized red, wearing 20in Michelin PSS tyres.

Now for the important numbers: 0-62mph takes just 3.9 seconds – putting it way ahead of the M4. The real eye-opener however, is the car’s top speed: thanks to a delete of the limiter, this little monster will run on to 205mph. Yup. 205mph. From a 2-Series.

Looks quite menacing, no? You can thank the new air optimised front skirt with carbon spoiler elements, a carbon rear diffuser, flared arches, a carbon bonnet and some rather exceptional mirrors.

But we have reserved a separate slide for the most excellent thing – aside from the power, of course – about this ACL2...

Just look at it. A special AC Schnitzer ‘Racing’ job with a flap and special fixing feet that put it 250mm clear of the boot. Superb stuff.

Green has invaded the cabin, with green leather, green stitching over black suede, carbon bucket seats with green inserts, a new Schnitzer control display, along with aluminium pedals, foot rests and gear top.

It’s only a technology demonstrator, to better represent the company’s capability (which surely was never in any doubt). But, in its current form, we’re told the car weighs in at €149,000 – a shade of £117k. Audi R8 money.

Would you, if you could?