The 2012 BMW M5 is already a do-it-all corner carver and one that does its namesake justice. It may be faster than most sports cars, but this hyper sedan is still missing a little something that its relatives of yore flaunted with pride. That is until now as BMW has officially confirmed that their fastest four door will get a manual transmission option for the 2013 model year. The same twin turbocharged 4.4 liter V8 found in the 2012 cars can be matched up to BMW’s hardened six speed manual at no extra cost to buyers. That means that the same 560 horsepower and 502 lb-ft of torque can be put to the ground via a do-it-yourself clutch and shifter. The seven speed automatic will still be an option.
BMW has always offered a manual transmission to their M5 but this time, it’s going to be a bit more exclusive. In an odd twist, the German company has decided to play favorites with the United States instead of their home land. According to Car & Driver Magazine, the six speed option will only be available to the North American market. And unlike the last generation M5, the F10 generation will share a differential and final drive between the automatic and manual cars. This is good news for those looking to clutch-kick their M5’s to sideways victory as the six speed version will have the ability to deactivate its traction control: not an option on the V10 cars.
Source: Car & Driver
