AC SCHNITZER ACS2 SPORT

Attention-grabbing German tuning firm turns up the wick on BMW's M2

- RICHARD LANE

TESTED 27.8.24, AACHEN, GERMANY ON SALE NOW

If there's an automotive concern to which the idiom 'don't judge a book by its cover' applies almost perfectly, it's Aachen-based AC Schnitzer. The UK's petrolheads have mostly grown out of adding catalogue-ordered wings and other 'enhancements' to cars that came with an adequately disreputable aura straight from the factory, and Schnitzer's full conversions can appear cartoonish to our eyes now. 'Style over substance' is the gut response, but in the case of the ACS2 Sport, don't put too much stock in your viscera just yet.

We will get to why that is in a moment. For now, what exactly are we dealing with? The transmogrified 2 Series before you is a full conversion of the G87generation M2 (pre-facelift, in this case), and as usual it's expensive if you go for everything on the menu.

This ranges from the fantastically firm, heavily contoured steering wheel to two-way adjustable, KW-built dampers with Schnitzerspecific valving, via plenty of CFRP aero add-ons and carbonfibre trim. Think three figures all-in, but few will go the whole hog.