It sure seemed that BMW was giving a nod to its all-important US buyers — many of whom thought the company's SMG automanual was as welcome as a cyborg mother-in-law. Execs reversed their decision not to offer a proper six-speed manual on US-bound M5s, and built the tri-ped despite protest from M-division chief Gerhard Richter. But as Car magazine reports, the sacrifices required may have been too great. Without computer control of clutch plates, axle hop became a serious issue, and so stability control had to be called upon in a more or less permanent role. That may be a problem for tail-out masters, though not so much for future Darwin award nominees regular drivers. That's what you get when you listen to your customers.
BMW wrong slots with manual M5 [Car]
Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 BMW M5, Part 1 [internal]