Does the BMW M2 Feature the last Manual Gearbox We’ll See from BMW?
• At BMW, it’s now assumed the new M2 will be the brand's last new car with a manual gearbox.
Across the industry, the manual gearbox is on its way out; fewer and fewer new models are offered with it. And with electrification, it seems destined to disappear. At BMW, the certitude is that its days are numbered; even now, there are only a handful of M vehicles left that can be fitted with it.
Like the M2, which has just had a facelift.
However, the end is nigh. Dirk Hacker, head of M product development, confirmed as much in an interview with Top Gear. Essentially, he said that the M2 would probably be the brand's last car to offer three pedals. He added an interesting nuance, however.
“It's not just a BMW decision, it's also suppliers.” Hacker noted that interest in them is waning, and he finds it hard to see a future for the manual gearbox at BMW. Within six or seven years, roughly the life cycle of the new M2, the format will likely be gone across the lineup.
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