If you prefer your high-end German sedans with a third pedal, you need to rush to your local BMW dealer immediately. We knew the day was coming, but BMW has officially stated they will no longer sell the M5 (or M6 for that matter) with a manual transmission when the new model arrives. As it stands, North America was the only market that got a manual option for the current M5, so it’s no surprise to hear it will die soon, but it still makes us sad.
The news came courtesy of Car and Driver who had an interview with BMW’s M Division chief, Frank van Meel. The problem is simply take rate. Even though there was a demand to bring it to the states, the current stick in the M5 was basically a waste of money, as almost nobody has ordered one. That leaves BMW stuck with a huge R&D bill, and they don’t really like that. For the M6, the take rate has “dropped to zero” according to van Meel.
Have no fear M faithful, as the third pedal is not dying out completely. BMW still plans on offering a clutch in the smaller M cars, so your M3, M4 and M2 are all safe from the plague of the automatic. At least for now, anyways. Take this as your reminder that if the you don’t buy the cars you love with the options you want, they will stop making them.
All that aside, if you want a really cool car that will likely be worth a ton of money in a few decades, go place an order for an M6 with a manual transmission. Word has it that they are pretty rare.
