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BMW previously confirmed that the 3 Series would abandon the manual transmission for the U.S. market, leaving many enthusiasts livid. Then there was talk that the M3 might abandon rear-wheel drive entirely, as the new car’s eight-speed gearbox was designed to work with the modern xDrive system.
However, there may still be hope for a manual option. The brand has allegedly not made up its mind on the matter, at least as far as the M3 is concerned. Still, it remains a pretty slim prospect, as BMW has admitted that manual sales are on a rapid decline and don’t really make it a lot of money.
While any hopes of seeing a traditional stick in the rest of the 3 Series have been dashed, BMW Blog reports that the next M3/M4 might still get them. According to unknown sources from within the company, BMW has not made up its mind on whether the manual should get the axe. However, that’s not exactly any kind of assurance it’ll be available on the next generation M cars.
From BMW Blog:
BMW is also trying to figure out whether the car offered should be all-wheel drive or remain RWD as tradition dictates. At the moment, all possibilities are taken into account in meetings in Munich but if a manual choice is to be offered, chances are it won’t be with the M xDrive system as that’s made to work with the ZF 8-speed gearbox. Creating an all-wheel drive system from scratch to work with a manual gearbox might be too costly to develop and may take too long in the development process.
The outlet also speculated that an easy solution to the rear-drive issue would be to offer an electronic drift mode that sends most of the power to the aft of the vehicle. If that ends up being the case, there would be little sense in developing an archaic substitute for the automatic transmission. The next-gen M3 is scheduled to launch in 2020, with an unknown setup. We’d advise you to hold out hopes — but not your breath — on BMW delivering a version that includes a clutch pedal.
[Image: BMW]
>>shrugs<< does it matter in an immediate future where steer/brake/throttle by wire (and if GM has something to say about it clutch by wire as well) are going to be the norm?
The new M5 went AWD for the first time ever, but has a mode that disengages the front axle entirely; I think that would be just fine for the next M3/M4. Or, they could do a version that’s RWD/manual.
AWD is a good thing for a car with excess HP, it makes the top 200 hp usable.
Usable where exactly? On public roads for 2-3 seconds at a time?
Does AWD have any advantage? I understand for FWD car it would eliminate torque steer. But for RWD?
Traction for 0-60 times in magazines.
2.8 seconds to 60 isn’t too shabby…
Well, as the owner of a high horsepower RWD car, AWD would eliminate that tail-our oversteer that always seems to be lurking when you use plenty of throttle in a curve or even a crowned road. The electronic safety net can be overpowered as well; I tested several scenarios so I would be prepared…and you’re never really prepared.
While BMW can’t decide will they or won’t they.
Tesla’s outselling you name it!
Meh, the two-pedal version is better and has been for at least a few years now. If you really want a manual M3 and a ‘pure’ analog driving experience, keep an eye on BMWCCA classifieds or Bring A Trailer for a nice E36 M3.
My beef with this is if they go AWD + auto it’s going to drive the price of used manual BMWs up
Hopefully they leave the 2 series alone
How about some engine options, a good I6 is great but if they have to saddle it with turbos then just offer the N/A V8 so customers can choose an upscale engine option.
The fact that they’re even contemplating this decision means they’ve lost everything that used to make BMW desirable. An automatic-only M3 wouldn’t be an M3, it would just be the expensive 3 series.
BMW jumped the shark when they started putting runflats on their cars. Runflats just may have all manners of positive properties, but being The Ultimate Driving anything, is simply not one of them. Since then, BMW has just been pointlessly fast cars.
The way they’ve been going with steering feel and fake engine noise, they might as well give it a CVT.
“The next-gen M3 is scheduled to launch in 2020, with an unknown setup. We’d advise you to hold out hopes — but not your breath — on BMW delivering a version that includes a clutch pedal.”
That’s why I bought a 2018, one of the last new ones in stock. Tried to special order in July-August but they had already stopped production (for Canadian allocation, anyway).