Hardcore manuals coming for 2021 M3 and M4, M5 to remain auto only

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As the sole carmaker to continue offering a manual option in the premium mid-sized high-performance segment, BMW M is bucking tradition and looking to position the 'stick shift' format as a flagship option in the now-delayed 2021 M3 and M4 range. “The manual stick shift is not an entry proposition any more,” says the boss of BMW M Division, Markus Flasch. “It used to be the entry transmission then on top of that you’d have the automatic or a sequential gearbox or whatever.

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