The US-market BMW M5 and M6 will soon drop the manual gearbox

Frank van Meel, head of BMW M GmbH, has stated that the manual gearbox in the BMW M5 and M6 will disappear with the next generation for a simple reason: “Demand has dropped to zero.”

It is understandable that, although many enthusiasts of this type of car demand the option of a manual gearbox, manufacturers, in this case BMW, eliminate the traditional gear change. After all, however much enthusiasts may like it, if it doesn’t sell, they have no choice.

The type of customer who today looks for a BMW M5 or M6 usually wants a fast car that allows strong longitudinal and lateral acceleration while keeping everything under control, but also wants a high level of comfort when they feel like enjoying a drive, making their daily commute or traveling.

For its part, models such as the new BMW M2 or the M3 and M4 are cars whose concept has been developed for a very sporty type of customer. The M2 is an authentic devourer of mountain passes and twisty circuits, aimed at a young audience that will normally not use that same car for touring the major cities of Europe. The M3 and M4 sit midway between the M2 and the M5, offering a good balance between high sportiness and everyday usability.

With all this, there are also rumours about the possibility that the future BMW M5 and M6 will use xDrive all-wheel drive as standard, although keeping rear-wheel drive as an option. The reason for fitting four-wheel drive to these models is safety. The next generations will most likely approach or even slightly exceed 600 CV, and so much power available only at the rear axle can be difficult to control.

Via | Car&Driver

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SedanBMW Serie 516 versions · from 63,450 €