Another day, another record in the official Nürburgring laptime table. But it’s not the performance of this car that had me reaching for my keyboard, no. It’s the sheer absurdity of the class definition.
Like a cup finally overflowing, or a frog deciding NOW is the time to jump out of this increasingly hot saucepan, I couldn’t contain my ire another moment longer. The new M2 CS is the straw that broke this camel’s back.
This “compact” car boasts:
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- Nearly 1700kg!
- Almost 4.6mtrs long !
- A whopping twin-turbo 3.0ltr 6-cylinder motor with 530hp and 650Nm
- €115,000 base price in Germany
Now, I know that the RS3 and Civic FL5 (previous Compact Car class record holders) are a similar length, but at least both of those were around the 1.5 ton (1500kg) benchmark (The Civic just under!). So in my head, a compact car is a four-banger, closer to one ton than two tons, and preferably closer to 4mtrs than 5mtrs.
Golf. Cupra. Civic. You get me?
Alas, that’s not the definition used by the KBA…
The KBA (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) is Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, responsible for registering vehicles, issuing type approvals, and defining official vehicle classes. Their classification system places cars like the BMW M2 CS and Audi RS3 in the “Kompaktklasse”, based primarily on length and interior configuration — not weight or performance.
Yep, weight, price, engine size… NONE of those are what makes a car compact according to the KBA. And as cars bloat upwards every year, the new M2CS is now longer than EVERY M3 since 2007! Heck, it’s only 30mm shorter than an E92 M3!
Because the KBA don’t count kerbweight, just length and interior volume, here’s a list of cars that I propose all become honorary ‘COMPACT CARS’
| Vehicle | Length (mm) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Lamborghini Huracán | 4,520 mm | Just a lil’ Lambo |
| Porsche 911 (992) | 4,519 mm | Smol boy Porker |
| Ferrari 488 GTB | 4,568 mm | Turbocharged V8 Ferrari Compact |
| Porsche Cayman GT4 (718) | 4,456 mm | Smoller boy Porker |
| Chevrolet Corvette C7 | 4,491 mm | American muscle car? Nah, just a compact |
| Audi R8 (Type 4S) | 4,429 mm | Shares platform with Lambo compact car |
| BMW 1M Coupé (E82) | 4,380 mm | The M2 CS’s spiritual granddad, nearly E30 size |
| E30 M3 | 4,355 mm | THIS IS COMPACT |
| Toyota Supra A90 (GR) | 4,380 mm | Shares platform with Z4 |
| Mazda CX-5 (SUV) | 4,575 mm | Yep, even this SUV is shorter than an M2! |
As an aside, 6 years ago, Vincent Radermacker took the Jaguar Project 8 around the Nordschleife in 7m23s, and by these definitions that 5.0ltr V8 is only a couple of centimeters off being a compact car itself. Oh well…
Watch the lap below.
Sauces:
Nuerburgring.de
press.bmwgroup.com