M2

There is a reason the most compact M in the range is also the one that understands Sardinia best: the island's most memorable roads are narrow, technical and carved straight into the rock. On the SS125 Orientale Sarda between Dorgali and Baunei, or over the Genna Silana pass, the M2's short wheelbase and 480 hp turn every hairpin into an invitation — exactly where a larger car would be asking you to back off.

The Bosa–Alghero coastal road, its corners suspended above the sea, is the M2's ideal territory: a carriageway that fits, a rhythm that never breaks, no endless straight to make it feel small. Many of the routes we recommend to our guests are gathered in our guide to the most beautiful driving roads in Sardinia; the M2 takes on every one of them without asking permission.

The 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six has a metallic voice that thickens beyond 4,000 rpm, with a dry crackle on the overrun once the most aggressive map is selected. The eight-speed M Steptronic fires through the gears with a ferocity adjustable across three stages: in town it is smooth and discreet; in the mountains it becomes a repeating rifle.

Drive goes to the rear wheels alone, and you feel it in the best possible way: the steering stays clean, untainted by torque corruption, and the rear axle follows you out of each corner with a progressive rotation the M traction control lets you meter to taste. This is physical driving — wrists and throttle — and it remains perfectly legible even as the pace rises.

The M2 offers no variants: coupé only, rear-wheel drive only — and that is precisely the point. Within a fleet of more than 100 models and 150-plus versions, this is the car you choose when you want to subtract rather than add: two doors, four genuine seats, an engine up front and the driven wheels behind. Nothing else between you and the road.

Our example wears Zandvoort Blue, a saturated azure that looks purpose-designed for the island, set against the granite and Mediterranean scrub of the interior. Anyone seeking the same character with more space can browse the other BMW M cars available to rent — though those who choose the M2 rarely change their mind halfway through the holiday.