Calling a modern BMW ugly is a bit like calling the sky blue. Insulting their design language has become so common that it’s becoming a cliche, even if the insults are well-deserved. While models like the iX showcase the worst of BMW’s current beaver teeth, the BMW M2 stands out among the BMW lineup for being ugly in a different way.
The previous generation M2, shown here in Hot Wheels form, was an elegant and swooping masterclass in flared surfaces and a unified corporate design language. For this new G87 generation, BMW threw out all that elegance and replaced it with blocky, square flares and oddly straight surfaces that look like they forgot to take off the development camouflage. Since you’re reading this blog, you’re likely already familiar with the discourse around this car, so there’s no need to relitigate it further. Instead, I want to focus on something more interesting: Matchbox somehow managed to make this car better looking!
This model clearly still looks like a BMW M2, so they didn’t radically depart from the design of the original car, but somehow this design language works far better in 1/64 scale than in full scale. I’m a big fan of the M3-style hood bulge and black roof, which give this car an impressively aggressive look.
The rear end design is a highlight of this Matchbox version of the M2. While many of the same design sins are still present here, like the bulging vertical slats in the bumper, their smaller size on this 1/64 scale version make them far less offensive. The same goes for the brake lights, which are incredibly well-detailed on this model but don’t bulge out like they do on the full scale car. One of the M4’s best design details – its diffuser with quad exhausts – is among the best executed exhausts I’ve seen from a Matchbox basic model. I truly love how aggressive and sporty they look. Matchbox gets bonus points for including a rear license plate, even if it’s not a realistic Euro-style plate.
Interestingly, the full-scale M2 features a crease going between the bottom of the wheel arch and the brake light at a 45° angle. That crease is completely missing on this 1/64 version, which helps contribute to its superior looks compared to the 1/1 version. The aggressive inward cut behind the front wheel arch has also been significantly smoothed out, giving this model a more elegant look.
The side profile does an excellent job of showing off that bulging hood and integrated lip spoiler on the trunk. The wheel fitment on this model is nothing short of perfect, and the flared side skirt is a nice touch as well.
The front of the M2 still looks far too flat, but that’s hardly Matchbox’s fault. As with the back, I think the front bumper benefits from the limits of casting detail at this scale, with some of the M2’s most non-cohesive and jarring lines being smoothed out.
There’s still a nice amount of detailing here though, with a clever use of negative space in the intakes on both sides of the bumper. It likely would have been easier to just make them flat and print them black like the grille, but the added depth makes the model look far more realistic. In fact, I would have liked to see a similar effect for the kidney grilles, or at least some texture in the casting, because they look overly flat.
The Matchbox team deserves a ton of credit for taking the lemons of the M2 and turning them into lemonade. Against the odds, they have made a very cool model that is easily one of the must-haves from its case. While I would have liked to see a cooler debut color (I hope the next recolor will be the Zandvoort Blue that the M2 is famous for), I can’t deny the excellent end result. Apparently all BMW needed was a little help from a toy company.
Update: if you’d prefer this blog post in video form, I’ve made an experimental companion video over on my Youtube channel. Don’t worry, I will still be regularly posting high quality written content here (as that’s the reason I started DiecastLeno in the first place), but I wanted to experiment with video as a discoverability tool and an way to meet people where they are. If you want to check it out, you can do so here.
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