Manhart will now make your BMW M240i more powerful than an M2

The whole point of the BMW M240i is to serve as the less powerful, more understated alternative to the range-topping M2. But what if you wanted your M240i to look, sound and go more like its evolutionary form? Manhart’s ‘MH2 450’ package seems to fit the bill.

The trusty 3.0-litre twin-turbo ‘B58’ straight-six gains a substantial power boost from 379 to 446bhp, while torque is raised from 369 to 443lb ft. The list of mechanical upgrades to get there is lengthy, as you’d expect. There’s an in-house developed power box, a rear silencer with valve control and a new set of 100-millimetre exhaust tailpipes.

Manhart will even throw on a set of lowering springs or sportier coilovers should you so wish, with stage 2 and 3 power upgrades also offered to take the M240i far beyond the M2’s shadow... though we’re not yet sure exactly how far beyond.

The whole ‘understated’ theme will also be rubbished by Manhart under your instruction, with the lower ride doubled up by Concave One six-spoke alloys, and a new set of front/rear splitters, side sills and ducktail wing - all made from (surprise, surprise) carbon. Finally, there’s the livery and corresponding accents, which can all be optioned at a cost.

And speaking of cost, there are a total of 39 items that can be chosen, totalling over 70 grand. But considering most of these are different versions of the same type of modification (i.e. suspension), we’d imagine you’d have spent well under half that amount by the time you reached the checkout.

Reckon this makes sense, or would you rather just go for an M2 itself?