The all-new BMW M5 is due sometime next year, and when it does come out, expect it to come with an automatic gearbox, instead of a speedy dual-clutch – and you can expect the same for all BMW M models in the future, too.
“The double clutch, from BMW M’s point of view these days, it’s gone,” said BMW M Head of Development, Dirk Hacker, in an interview with Top Gear. “It’s now manual or automatic, and automatic electrified for the future.”
Honestly, though, we really could’ve seen it coming, when the more “hardcore” M4 CSL made its debut last year with the same automatic gearbox as the rest of the M3/M4 range. With manuals also on the verge of being sunsetted (the all-new M2 is reportedly the last new BMW M model with a manual gearbox), it might really just be slushboxes from here on out… at least until the electric overlords takeover.
So why exactly is BMW M killing the dual-clutch? According to Hacker, it’s about… comfort. Yes, on a BMW M car.
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“Around the M5 there was a big discussion, not only for the automatic transmission, but also for other things. And the decision was not only because of cost, but also because of comfort [with the automatic], because we got a lot of reactions about manoeuvring, parking, no rolling if you leave the pedal and so on,” he said.
Essentially, the automatics won because the people buying these BMW M cars spend the majority of their time trundling about in town. Hacker does however say that “the automatic is better performing than the double clutch,” adding that the automatic shifts faster than a DCT on the M4 CSL, and the same automatic gearbox is also used in their new M4 GTR race car.
He also commented on the future of the manual gearboxes for the M division: “If you take a look around, you will see the future for manual gearbox suppliers will decrease. So I’m not sure we will have the possibility in the future – but in the future means six, seven years in forecast.”
So if you want a manual M car, now is really the time to do so. Because in the near future, not only will there be no more manuals, you won’t even be able to get one with the sportier “automatic” too.
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