E60 M5 News
 

Not that I could afford one...but...

> Car And Driver May 2005
>
> Manual M5: When we drove the M5 last year, BMW
> insisted its sequential-manual seven-speed would be
> the only transmission offered in the 500-hp '06 M5.
> But in 2007 we will get a six-speed manual complete
> with clutch pedal for enthusiasts who like to row
> their own. The new tranny comes primarily as a
> result of pressure from U.S. loyalists and BMW's
> North American sales arm that forced the
> Munich-based carmaker to offer a traditional
> six-speed manual. The U.S. will be the only market
> to receive 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 involvement in
> our fast cars.

thats interesting, new M5 with manual ... ,
great, no idea what car will beat that, all new supersedans will be automatic

Awesome...I always thought Americans were supposed to be the lazy ones, who always wanted automatics in their cars...ah well, I guess that's everyone else now. ;)

lol, i find it pretty amazing that American's are asking for a manual and the only ones who are getting it.....

For instance in America, the 360 sold 75-80% as F1 boxes. In Britain it was split more 50/50.

Ah well, i'll believe it when I see it

I'm not so sure that they will release a manual gearbox at all, and I think it is even less likely that if they spend the time (and money) developing the gearbox they would choose to alienate other markets i.e. Europe/Asia

I hope this happens. :shock:

Agree..

If BMW will install a manual for the E90 M5, they first do it for Europe, where people mostly want manual gearbox.

if they do,
It will be a bit slower for speeds higher than 60kmh. But it'll be much fun...

This topic courtesy of m5board.com ;)

I've had the privledge to drive my buddy's M3 with an SMG lately. And now I know I will never buy an SMG car. I'd rather have a full automatic or learn a manual. Those things really fuck up the ride of a car whose ride should be pretty good. Maybe thats why they did it.

E90 is the new 3series, E60 is the new 5series. As it happens I don´t care much about M5 since i know one M6 that is coming over here in a few weeks :D

And about the transmission, i guess the problem will be with the smg, people in America doesn´t appreciate it, because it is not a real auto, and manual neither. Driven SMG2 in Kelleners M3, i know it is a beaut. And i really don´t mind giving rest for my left foot.

shit, ı'm really ashamed now :)
thanks :)
just an advice, dont study geolgy..

1) i hope BMW goes thru with this, just cuz it's more options and will further enhance the dynamic characteristics of this thoroughbred.
2) It mentions the US as more manual 'box prone, based on our NASCAR obsession. a) Mindgam3 brings up a very good point. b) What do NASCAR cars use as far as 'boxes go? Manual???

Answer: Just did a quick serch. I think they do use manuals for the most part. So that could be a correct reason for BMW, but I'm sure there are some deeper economic motivations as well.

ikon- Yeah, they use manuals. I think they only use 4spds though.

The reason for Ferrari being bought as mostly F1 shifters is because you associate Ferrari purely with formula one and F1 paddle shift is formula one. But the M5 isn't neccessarily associated with formula one as it is with it's past M5 brethen which were all manual. The nascar comment is crap though since the people that buy M5's could care less about Nascar, Nascar fans buy muscle cars, thats just logic, and yes they are 4-speed manuals. I really think it has to do more with the M5 loyalist than anything else, there's a feel for a car that you can only get with a manual even though performance might be hampered and the loyalist want that. They should do a survey of how many E60 M5 owners in the U.S. owned a previous M5 and how many would want a manual to see if there is a correlation.

I'd disagree, the 360 F1 boxes were mostly bought because it doubled as a full automatic - it still wasn't good enough to enhance the drive compared to a manual. Hence generally why americans bought more F1 than manual compared to Europeans.

F430 F1 box i'd say is much more comparable to the manual