[fordgt84]

Massive f***ing fail from BMW... wow, just wow

Since spy shots first appeared last summer of the F10 BMW M5, it has been clear it will be the first M car available only with a fully automatic transmission, with manumatic controls of course. The spy shots were of the “planned leak” variety, allowing spy photographers to peek inside the next M5’s cabin. The transmission mated to the twin-turbo, gas direct-injection 4.4-liter V-8 will be a ZF eight-speed automatic, with no manual or twin-clutch transmission offered. The X5 M and X6 M come with automatics, of course, but we’re counting them as crossover/utility vehicles. Word is that BMW tried to adapt the Getrag M Dual Clutch Transmission (M DCT) for the F10 M5. M is tipped to have tuned the car’s twin-turbo V-8 to more than 550 horsepower. Although the torque number remains unknown, it’s obviously too high for the M DCT. BMW M discovered that the transmission would have to be beefed up with bigger actuators, which would slow down the transmission’s response time. The only way it could have worked was with an extensive redo of the M DCT. So BMW’s M division chose to go with the eight-speed manumatic only. One competitor still offers both fully manual and fully automatic transmissions, the Cadillac CTS-v, while the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and its predecessors have long been manumatic-only.

http://wot.motortrend.com/2012-bmw-m...tter%2BTraffic