This is good news for those among who still value the thrill of truly driving a car – The new BMW M3 and M4 will get one.
This could have gone one of two ways. The other German brands, Mercedes-AMG and Audi RS, decided a while back that do-it-yourself transmissions were a thing of the past. BMW could have opted to follow in their footsteps but graciously put their passionate BMW drivers first. The next-generation BMW M3 and M4 will be offered with an optional manual transmission.
Less than a decade ago, heck, five years ago, the manual transmission was the standard while an automatic, no matter what it may be , was an option. Predictably, this situation has completed an about-face. This is how BMW will make the traditional gearbox available.
In a chat with caradvice.com, BMW M Division Boss, Markus Flasch, said the manual transmission option will be reserved to the “pure” M cars such as the M2, M3 and M4. This means that the M5 (and M8 for that matter) will not be privy to an optional manual. He added that customer demand in the US, the M Division’s strongest market in the world, was a huge influence in making this happen.
In the last week or two, pictures of the M3 and M4’s front and rear fascias have surfaced on the web. Yes, it appears as though the ghastly oversized kidney grille will be a real thing. No one is thrilled about this fact but maybe, just maybe, driving a manual 2021 M3 will make it all better.
