M4 Likely To Be The Last Ever BMW Available With A Manual
Despite being an extremely niche option in many markets, BMW will indeed be offering a manual transmission with the next M4. Praise be.
When asked by Road and Track if the replacement for the F82 M4 will be available with stick, BMW development board boss Klaus Frohlich confirmed the good news. “I think it should survive in the next generation of M4…so my promise is, yes, there will be a manual in the successor to M4,” he said.
What’s more, it’s likely a future M4 will be the last BMW to have a manual ‘box. “I think, in the overall portfolio, manuals will disappear. But I think M4 should be the fortress of manual. So the last manual transmission which will die, it should die in an M4, as late as possible,” he said.
Low demand is the biggest hurdle facing powerful BMW manuals. Munich isn’t able to invest in developing a new manual to take the kind of high torque outputs associated with its pokier models, and “No transmission partner will do that [develop a manual] with us,” Frohlich notes.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
What about the M2? From what I’ve seen there are a lot more manual M2 than there are automatics. I seriously doubt the statement that the next gen M4 will be the last BMW with a manual.
Really? I know 3 M2 owners. All autos.
That all sounds like it only applies to M cars. That stuff about handling torque. In Germany, many (i’m not sure, but i think the majority) bmws are still sold as manuals.
Not new. That’s the problem. People who buy brand new cars are buying with the DCT boxes. My brothers selling luxury German cars he buys under 30k miles at auction and I’d say a good 80% of the cars that roll through his dealership are auto.
Didn’t they recently limit manuals to the m340 only in the 3 series? If that becomes a trend for them, m cars will be the only manual BMW’s available, and not for long.
In my opinion, the manual car should be the M2. The M4 has become rather large and heavy and is probably mostly bought with auto. To me, the M2 best represents the best of BMW.
It sells the most manuals too. I don’t understand why they would push the m4 manual which sells quite a bit less.
Hell, I reckon all of the M cars should be at least available with three pedals.
Kinda sad how much the M division has changed since the late 2000s
I can promise you, manuals will be an expensive option fitted to very few units sold of a given model. I am basing this on the fact that Porsche has promised no more manuals, then they put out the R. Now they have to sell GT3s with manual too just to offset the car flipping the R did.On paper a manual si heaps cheaper than a decentfast shifting auto. But they will soon sell it to all these “petrolheads” and “purists” for more money than the DSG version, or whatever they call it, while shifting much fewer units. Numbers of sold manuals today indicate less than 30% manuals sold compared to autos when talking about the same model in higher end cars (not econobox Clio). So for them this is a prime way to both hit that niche and make the wallets that little fatter. This day will come, mark my word.
That’s hella sad.
I would love to learn how to drive a manual. But at this rate by the time I master it, there wont be any manual cars left.
just buy an older car
Yeah maybe in 2070
Most of us will never have one anyways
Why is everybody whining about manuals but when it comes to buying everyone gets an automatic? Or is it just a couple of fanboys that never driven those cars…
Here it is from another perspective: Maybe you want to buy a used M4 4-5 years from now. They’re all automatic. There aren’t enough manuals to trickle down to second-hand buyers.
im not crying you are
Younger kids are less and less interested in car culture, unfortunately. BMW is going where the money is, and you can’t blame them. Sad, but this will leave other companies to tackle that market.
Someone please make a cheap, light, RWD 4-door sedan with charisma.
And nobody takes up your challenge. Bc the car industry is a business. And business only goes when you can sell your product. A cheap light RWD 4 door sedan with charisma is not a hot selling product. Look at Porsche, they have to build 3 totally Porsche but in no way Porsche models just to be able to support building the 911. It’s a sad state of the world you can blame for that. And the free capitalist market which has saved us and doomed us at the same time.
No!! I wish the M2 competition was available with a manual. This is truly a tragedy. #SaveTheManuals