BMW M2 Competition or Corvette Z06: which should you rent?

Two cars, two very different days out. The BMW M2 Competition is the friendlier and more affordable choice. It is a compact rear-wheel-drive coupe with 405 horsepower, a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox with launch control, and a rate of $399 a day at Grant Motor Group. The Corvette Z06 costs $449 a day and gives you far more car: a mid-engine layout, a hand-built 670-horsepower V8, and the kind of sound and speed most people only hear on a race broadcast. Pick the M2 if this is your first fast rental or you want a car you can lean on all day. Pick the Z06 if you came to Scottsdale to feel a race engine on the street.

The M2 Competition is the easier car to enjoy

The M2 Competition is the easier of the two to drive fast, which makes it the better first exotic rental. Its heart is the S55, a 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six that makes 405 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. That is the same basic engine BMW put in the larger M3 and M4 of the same era, dropped into the smallest M body. It runs 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. Top speed is 174 mph.

Those numbers are quick, but the M2 feels approachable in a way the Z06 does not. The turbochargers deliver strong pull from as low as 2,350 rpm, so you get a firm shove without having to rev the engine hard. The car is short, rear-wheel drive, and honest about what it is doing. You feel the back of the car work, but it talks to you before it steps out. BMW calls the power delivery "exceptionally linear" across the rev range, and on the road that reads as easy to trust.

The M2 Competition runs a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox with launch control, so you can shift with the paddles or leave it in automatic. Add compact size, real trunk space, and a cabin you can sit in for hours, and the M2 works as a daily driver you happen to be renting for a weekend.

The Z06 is a street-legal race engine

The Corvette Z06 is built around a 670-horsepower V8 that is a road-legal version of the engine in the C8.R race car. The LT6 is a 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8, and Motor Authority calls it the most powerful naturally aspirated production V8 ever built. It makes its peak 670 horsepower at 8,400 rpm and spins all the way to an 8,600 rpm fuel cutoff, a figure you normally see only on exotics. From 5.5 liters, that works out to roughly 122 horsepower per liter, a rare number for an engine with no turbos.

This engine has real racing pedigree under the numbers. It uses a flat-plane crank and dual overhead cams, and it shares extensive parts with the C8.R race program. Corvette engineers say the cylinder heads are, apart from a little hardware, basically common with the race car's. Every LT6 is hand-built at Chevrolet's Bowling Green plant in Kentucky. The result on the road is a scream near the redline that sounds closer to a Ferrari than to a traditional American V8.

The performance backs up the noise. The mid-engine Z06 hits 60 mph in 2.6 seconds and clears the quarter-mile in 10.6 seconds, with a 195 mph top speed. It sends power through an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic only, so there is no manual here. The most surprising part is the price it was built to: a new Z06 starts at $106,395, which buys supercar acceleration for a fraction of a six-figure Italian exotic.

Power, price, and feel side by side

Side by side, the Z06 makes 265 more horsepower and is nearly two seconds quicker to 60 mph, while the M2 costs $50 less a day and stays far calmer in traffic. The table below lines up the numbers that matter most when you are choosing between them.

The two engines ask different things of you. The M2's turbo six hands you 406 lb-ft of torque low in the rev range, so it feels strong at any speed and forgives a lazy gear. The Z06's naturally aspirated V8 makes you chase the redline, and it pays you back with that 8,600 rpm wail. One rewards relaxed driving. The other rewards commitment.

Arizona roads shape how much of that you can actually use. The state's highest posted limit is 75 mph on rural interstates, and driving more than 20 mph over any posted limit is criminal excessive speeding, a class 3 misdemeanor that can carry up to 30 days in jail. So the real reward here is feel and sound at legal speeds, not a top speed you will never touch. A morning run out the Bush Highway toward the Salt River, or a loop toward the Superstition Mountains, shows off the M2's balance better than a straight line ever will. The Z06 wants open, smooth pavement where you can let it breathe.

Both cars are rear-wheel drive, which is worth remembering in summer. Phoenix heat softens tires, and a sudden monsoon storm between June 15 and September 30 can leave standing water on the road. Neither car likes wheelspin in the wet. Smooth throttle and steering inputs keep either one planted, and the Z06's extra 265 horsepower simply asks for more of that care.

Which one should you rent?

Rent the M2 Competition if you want engagement and a car you can drive all day without drama; rent the Z06 if you want the loudest, fastest, and most exotic experience of the two. The M2 is the smart first pick for a newer performance driver, and for anyone who wants to save $50 a day. It is quick, playful, and easy to place on the road.

The M2 is the natural place for a first-timer to start, and it sends you home grinning without ever feeling like too much car. The Z06 is the step up once you trust your right foot, and few expect a Corvette to sound this close to a Ferrari.

The Z06 is the choice for a confident driver marking a special day, someone who wants a screaming V8 and a car that stops traffic in Old Town. It has nearly the acceleration of cars costing three times as much, and it sounds like it. Just come to it with respect for 670 horsepower and a light right foot until you learn it.

Whichever you choose, both require proof of full-coverage insurance in your own name and a refundable security hold that varies by car. Delivery is available anywhere in Scottsdale; a delivery fee applies and is confirmed at booking. Prices and specs can change, so confirm the current rate and each car's exact hold when you book. Still torn between the two? Call or text (623) 400-3031 or message @grantmotorgroup on Instagram, and we will match the car to your day and bring it to you anywhere in Scottsdale.