BMW's M Cars Could Lose Their Manual Gearboxes

There is bad news coming from Bavaria if you enjoy using the leftmost pedal and the stick shifter in your M car: the head of BMW’s M division, Frank van Meel, says he doesn’t think there is much of a future for manual gearboxes due to declining sales of M cars equipped with standard transmissions.

Van Meel was quoted as saying: “From a technical standpoint, the future doesn’t look bright for manual gearboxes. The DCT and auto ’boxes are faster and they have better fuel consumption.

“It’s difficult to say we’ll stick to the manual, but we still have a big fan community for manuals and we are not going to take away something the customer wants to have.”

This is sure to disappoint all the manual fanatics out there (including myself). Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this.

Source: Montreal Racing

Share on Facebook

More on the subject

First Drives2015 BMW X6 M: Reality Distortion Field
There exists a small sliver of the automotive market that absolutely always wants to be driving the fastest, most powerful version of whatever vehicle strikes their fancy. Be it a rocket-powered school bus or a rider mower outfitted with a turbocharger, these devotees to benchmarks like torque, top speed, and …
Toronto2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe: The return of "Eigenwilling"
With anticipation of enthusiasts around the world at fever pitch, today BMW M GmbH unveiled the newest member of its intimate product family. For the first time, the coveted M badge has been granted to the popular BMW 1 Series in the form of the all-new BMW 1 Series M …
Comparative Tests2015 BMW M3/M4 - Heads For Style, Tails For Space
To think that BMW developed the first M3 in 1985 as a race car. In 1987, its first year of competition, this vehicle propelled Italy’s Roberto Ravaglia to pole position in the World Touring Car Championship. And that’s not all. The M3 also finished first in Europe, Britain, Australia and …
TokyoBMW M4 GTS: A Better Recipe
The BMW M4 is a staple in the performance world: a direct descendant of a long lineage of high-powered coupes, the Bavarian car is frequently said to be one of the best driver’s cars of its generation. BMW hasn’t finished perfecting its car yet: at the Tokyo Motor Show, they …