A traditional manual transmission is to an enthusiast what the Colt was to a Civil War soldier. Most of our fathers and our fathers’ fathers were raised with a third pedal and drove it proudly. But as life and the industry would have it, the transmission was improved and redesigned over decades to more powerful and efficient levels. Advanced sequential transmissions, like the M-DCT found in the current M3, can shift faster and take more punishment; why not opt for it? You don`t have to agree but the reason purists prefer the stick is for the communication between driver and car. Manning a shifter engages the driver and offers more personal control of the vehicle’s power. The more the driver is engaged, the more ultimate the driving experience. News that the F10 M5 is experiencing difficulty making a manual gearbox that can take the punishment the 550+hp engine delivers, we may see the death of a legendary gearbox that lived through generations of M. Let’s hope the next M3 will not follow suit. But if the all-new 1 series M is any testament, being available only with a 6-speed, we can rest assured that BMW will keep it around as long as they can.
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