“Where is the manual?” Most of us wondered that when BMW revealed the M2 CS. It is a valid question when you consider that the predecessor “F87” was delivered with a stick. However, the new “G87” competition is only available with an eight -speed automatic transmission. So what gives? In short: the engineers prioritized the horsepower at the expense of the third pedal.
We asked the F&E head of M, Dirk Häcker, last weekend at Le Mans, why the M2 CS skipped the manual. There is no more than 473 hp and 550 Nm (405 LB-FT) and still meets the requirements of BMW. The new hardcore version delivers a strong 523 hp and 650 Nm (479 LB-FT), which exceeded the output levels that exceeded the limit values of 6 MT.
For the M2 CS, the company had to decide whether either the full potential of the engine was unlocked or restricted its skills to maintain the three-pedal setup. BMW chose the former. Why? According to Häcker, the manual would not have been powerful enough to earn its CS badge and deliver the route performance expected by a competitive sports model.
When BMW updated the standard M2 last year, its inline-six engine reached 20 hp and reached 473 hp or the maximum that the manual could process. However, the torque remained unchanged at 550 Nm (405 LB-FT), since only the Steptronic version was found to 600 Nm (442 LB-FT). Now we know why.
At this point you may think we forgot the 3.0 CSL. After all, the M4 CSL-based Special Edition contains the title of BMW’s most powerful six-cylinder production car. The BMW voted the 3.0-liter twin turbo engine “S58” to 553 hp, but kept the manual transmission. Häcker explained that this was possible for a few reasons:
“It’s almost the same [gearbox used by the M2 and 3.0 CSL]. The thing is, we have different requirements. I think everyone knows that the 3.0 -CSL is a very rare, exclusive car. It is not driven every day. Not even the mileage. So overall we had a special obligation to use it there, but it is not an option for a track tool or the like. “
As for this “special obligation”, we can guess some factors. The price may have played a role because the 3.0 CSL reported around € 750,000. Homologation rules probably also played a role because the modern Batmobil was a low volume model that was limited to just 50 units. But even in this car, the engineers had to reduce the torque to 550 Nm (405 LB-FT) and correspond to the manual M2, M3 and M4.
Nevertheless, we should be grateful for what we have. Mercedes and Audi have given up manual gears for a long time. The M2 could keep its stick to the end, which is allegedly set for 2029. The M3 and M4 will be reduced earlier, but these cars will keep the manual until the end of production. The first BMW to lose the manual is the Z4 M40i next year when the roadster is set.
