BMW brings the 220i and M235i sports coupés to the Philippines

Aside from sausages, beers, and pretzels, no one makes pure front-engine rear-wheel-drive sports coupés like the Germans. Just ask BMW, who now offers the 220i and it's more potent brother, the M235i in the Philippines.

What is technically the replacement of the 1 Series Coupé, the 2 Series Coupé definitely flexes a bit more muscle than its predecessor. It's also larger in all directions with a 72 mm increase in length and 32 mm more side-to-side, while the wheelbase is stretched by an extra 30 mm. All in all, this should give the sporty 2-door coupe better balance and more wiggle room for all 4 passengers.

Yes, BMW claims that the 2 Series Coupé really has seats for 4.

Although there's a soft top available elsewhere in the world, the German brand's local distributor Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC) decided to bring in the hard top versions for now. That leaves you with 2 choices: the 220i Sports Coupé and the M235i.

The 220i Sports Coupé is the more civilized of the 2, which relies on a 2.0L TwinPower Turbo that puts out 184 hp and 270 Nm of torque at the crank. That's a petrol unit by the way in case you're asking... because diesels don't belong in a sportscar. It then sends that power to the rear wheels via an 8-speed sport auto gearbox.

Performance figures are 0 to 100 km/h in 7.0 seconds and a top speed of 235 km/h. Not bad for something you can use as a daily drive, now listed at P2.99 million.

What really gets our hearts racing, however, is the M235i.

BMW claims that this isn't really a full-fledged M car like the M3, M4, and M5. Rather, it's an 'M Performance Automobile' or MPA in short. What this means is, while it has a sportier interior, performance tuning, M Sport suspension, bigger brakes, and a sexier body work, it wasn't developed by BMW's M group who normally develops their own engine, suspension, and parts.

But do you really think we care that it's not a proper 'M car'? Not when you have a 3.0L inline-6 M Performance TwinPower Turbo under the hood – one that produces 326 hp and 450 Nm of torque. This lets the M235i sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in only 4.8 seconds and reach an electronically-limited top speed of 250 km/h.

Suspension upgrades and an M Performance mechanical limited slip diff also makes the M235i the perfect track day weapon for those who want to explore the limits of this 2-door coupé. Sadly, the 8-speed steptronic sport transmission is standard equipment and won't be available with a manual.

With this, you can now buy happiness for a tag price of P4.99 million.