New 2021 BMW M3 And M4 To Get Manual Transmission, RWD And Up To 510 Horsepower

“Base” M3 and M4 will get 480 horsepower, a 6-speed manual transmission, and all our love.
The Competition versions gain 30 horsepower, an 8-speed automatic, and eventually AWD.
The world premiere is set to take place in mid-September of this year.

We hope that you are as excited as we are about BMW finally confirming that the manual transmission is back! We hope that other brands like Audi RS and Mercedes-AMG have taken note. Yes, the new BMW G20 M3 and G22 M4 will be more powerful than ever, likely the fastest of its kind, and did we mention that it will be offered with a manual transmission?

Leaked Image Of The All-New G22 BMW M4 Has Us Rethinking The Grille…

Like most of the current crop on BMW M vehicles available today, the upcoming M3 and M4 will be offered in extra-strength and maximum-extra-strength versions. The “base” cars will get a BMW M4 GT3-derived version of the M TwinPower Turbo 3.0-litre inline-6 cylinder engine that will produce 480 horsepower and will be set up with a 6-speed manual transmission and RWD – a proper BMW M3 (and M4) in our opinion.

Alternatively, a Competition version will be supplied with 510 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft. of torque for a little more oomph. The extra speed will also come courtesy of an 8-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission and, eventually, the latest version of BMW’s M xDrive AWD system.

Dirk Häcker, head of Development M Automobiles and BMW Individual, said: “For customers who prefer a puristic performance experience and particularly intense interaction with their vehicle, the model variants with a manual transmission constitute an offer that is unique in this segment.”

We concur.