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The BMW M2 is quietly making a strong case for the manual gearbox. In America, half of every M2 leaves the showroom with three pedals. M division boss Frank van Meel has taken close note of that split. He sees it as proof that keen drivers still want to shift for themselves. That balance is now shaping BMW’s thinking.
The timing gives the figure real weight. Purists fear the next M3, and with it the next M2 and M4, could drop the manual for good. The first hybrid M3 may arrive with all-wheel drive only. So the strong take rate may partly reflect a rush to grab a stick shift while one still exists. Buyers appear to be voting with their order sheets.
Van Meel used the M2 number to explain a fresh decision. BMW has signed off the limited M3 CS Handschalter, a rear-drive, manual-only model born in North America. He called rear-wheel drive and a manual the dream pairing for many purists. Demand was huge from the moment it broke cover. The run sold out almost at once.
The wider picture is not all rosy for gearbox fans. The Z4 M40i Handschalter has gone, with no successor named. Every M3 CS manual is already spoken for. That leaves the M2 and the standard M3 and M4 to fly the flag. Van Meel pointed to a rare special rather than a mainstream rollout.
His message reads clearly enough. BMW will keep building manuals, but they look set to be scarce, low-volume M cars. Van Meel admits the torque of modern M cars makes a manual harder to engineer. A manual M2 CS could still join the party in time. The clutch pedal is not dead. It is simply becoming a delicacy.
