One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the future next-generation BMW M3 is whether the model will come with a manual transmission option or it will become an automatic only performance sedan. We will probably have to wait at least a couple of months to find out, but we are happy to report BMW M wants the M4 to be offered with a six-speed manual as long as possible.
"Honestly, the pure engineering answer is, you're much faster with paddles and an automatic transmission," BMW board member and head of development, Klaus Frohlich, told Road and Track at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. "They're very precise and sporty. Especially on the Nurburgring, you are much better in control when you're not taking one hand away [to shift]. 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. That's my view."
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