[mr.smith]

BMW M Division boss Frank van Meel told UK's Autocar that the performance of BMW's quick-shifting dual-clutch automatic transmissions was quite impressive, and those transmissions are going to be a prominent part of future BMW M cars. The flip side of that is not a good sign for manual transmissions.

“From a technical standpoint, the future doesn’t look bright for manual gearboxes,” notes van Meel. “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.”

I guess a big part of the decline is simply that manuals aren't selling as much any more.

Another thing you might be disappointed in: BMW M will have a horsepower limit of 600 horsepower. Doesn't bother me so much because I think there is more to a great car than how high the horsepower is.

http://news.boldride.com/2015/07/bmw-m-cars-may-lose-manual/83913/

 

[bmeaggie]

I have heard this too. If you look now you can see that most big dealerships are ordering most M4s with the DCT. So from a supply chain and manufacturing perspective, the demand may not be there anymore for manuals.

I have never in my life had a sports car with an automatic transmission, but when I decided to get an M4 recently, I went with with DCT because of everything I was reading about the technology and how fast it could shift. It's a real paradigm shift that looks like it's actually happening. Me, someone who has always said I would never buy an automatic sports car, following suit, is a real good technical indicator.


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