Rejoice everyone. BMW has officially dispelled the rumors that the new M3 and M4 won't have a manual transmission. The 424 horsepower turbocharged monsters will let you row the gears yourself. Happy days are still here.
The new M3 and M4 (which we've already kind of seen) lose the lovely V8 that was in the last generation car and gain a mostly new 3.0 liter turbocharged straight six, which is the smallest engine in an M3 since the S50 engine in the E36 M3s.
What isn't small is the power. BMW says that the new M3 and M4 will have 424 horsepower and more than 369 pound feet of torque. That should be enough to hustle the German uber-coupe and sedan to 60 in the low four second range.
And when getting to 60, you have a choice of transmissions. One of them is a super quick double clutch which gets you through the gears faster than blah blah blah yadda yadda who cares. Then there's the glory of a six speed manual. A six speed manual with a clutch pedal.
That's right, BMW has listened to you, the people, and given us a manual trans for the M3. Please write your local BMW dealer and thank them profusely.
We should see the cars in final production guise at the Detroit Show in January.