US M5 News

[Ziploc]

According to C&D magazine the BMW M5 will get a 6spd 3 pedal option for US only.

Ill have the article typed out in a EDIT in a little bit.

EDIT:typed!

Manual M5
When we drive the BMW M5 last year, BMW insisted its sequential-manual would be the only transmission offered in the 500-hp '06 M5. But in 2007 we will also get a six-speed manual complete with a clutch pedal for enthusiasts who like to row their own. The new tranny comes primarily as a result of pressure from US loyalists and BMW's North American sales arm that forced the Munich-based carmaker to offer a traditional six-speed manual. The US will be the only market to recieve the three-pedal M5 because, as BMW puts it,the rest of the world, where Formula 1 is king, views the sequential manual as the most sporting and advanced option. In our nextel cup-loving land, we still prefer the simplicity of human involvment in out fast cars.

[5vz-fe]

repost

http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25429

[mindgam3]

respost and i say bullshit

[Toronto]

repost like 2 times

[ZfrkS62]

not bullshit mindgam3. check my BMW thread. I have it confirmed from out FSE.

[crayzayjay]

That's out of order. If i were in the market for an M5 i'd want it with a standard manual gearbox. Just because i'm in the UK i can't have it? :roll:

[ZfrkS62]

I think they are expecting the M5 to be a hotter seller in the US, and the don't want to push away their potential customers. But i agree that if they are going to be allowing a 6 speed option for the US, it sould be availible for the rest of the world too.

[mindgam3]

not bullshit mindgam3. check my BMW thread. I have it confirmed from out FSE.

Well if its US ONLY then thats a huge mistake by BMW as Europeans have a much larger proportion of manual then auto drivers

[Toronto]

^^^ there are more americans with bigger pockets :roll:

[CSedl87]

^^^ there are more americans with bigger pockets :roll:
Manual is cheaper to build/sell and also Europeans have a deeper root in money than americans.

[ZfrkS62]

i believe BMW-NA is developing the 6 speed closely with Getrag to try and get the ratios to handle the power and still be set to optimally handle the roads here in the US.

[findleybeast]

that's awesome news! it should be interesting to see how it compares to the SMG version too, despite the difference in the number of gears

[ikon2003]

I know if i were to buy one of those cars, I'd much prefer it in manual. I'm glad they're doing this, but as some of the other posts explain, i'm not too sure about BMW's justification for this....their logic is a bit twisted. Nonetheless, I hope it works.