BMW's DCT is an excellent transmission and is now without doubt the fastest production transmission offered by BMW, but enthusiasts who appreciate rowing their own gears still get a warm fuzzy feeling when seeing a manual transmission in a new BMW model, even if it's already been confirmed and has been seen previously -- such as the 6 speed shifter seen in this F10 M5.
There are just a few US spec F10 M5s roaming the US being driven by BMW employees or on loan as press cars. One of these was just spotted (thanks Justin) in Newport Beach in Los Angeles.
The U.S. order bank for the 2013 M5 will open this week and full option pricing and order guides will also be made available. The 6 speed manual transmission will be a no-cost option for the 2013 M5 and will be available immediately. Production of the 2013 M5 begins in July and deliveries will be begin in late August / early September. European delivery dates begin September 1.
2013 M5 U.S. base pricing has already been
announced at $90,695 (destination and handling included). Stay tuned for ordering info this week!
BMW M President Dr. Nitschke was recently asked why the US M5 gets manual transmission, but not other markets such as the German home market, to which he responded:
That is a curious situation. America is an automatic-transmission market. But sporty drivers always chose a manual over the automatic transmissions, which used to be inefficient and have just three or four gears. But technology has moved forward—personally, I am actually quicker with an automatic than with a manual. Our European customers have understood that. But in the U.S., there is a small but very stable following of customers who simply insist on the manual. And that is not always easy for us: Our new M5 and M6 have so much power that a mismatched shift can easily destroy the transmission. It’s not easy. Therefore, for the first time, we have advanced our software to cut spikes and protect the transmission electronically.
To our North American members: will you be ordering manual, DCT, or are you still undecided? VOTE ABOVE.
