Half of US BMW M2 Buyers Pick the Manual, So Munich Built a Stick-Shift M3 CS

BMW M boss Frank van Meel just dropped a fact that should make every enthusiast smile from ear to ear: 50% of all BMW M2s sold in the United States leave the dealer with the six-speed manual instead of the ZF eight-speed automatic. HALF, that is amazing. In 2026. And that number didn’t just make for a nice interview line, it convinced BMW to build a limited-run, stick-shift M3 CS Handschalter for this market, which then sold out practically on contact. Are we done being surprised yet?

What did BMW say about manual demand?

Speaking with BMW Blog, van Meel called rear-wheel drive with a manual the dream combination for purists, and said American demand is exactly why the M3 CS Handschalter exists. Per van Meel, “the car was practically sold out immediately.” BMW has not said how many it will build beyond capping it at very limited numbers (WHICH IS BEYOND LAME), and it serves as the send-off for the G80-generation M3 here.

Don’t forget when Americans saved another thing: when Porsche launched the 991 GT3 as PDK-only back in 2013, everyone wrote the manual’s obituary. Thirteen years later, BMW is building special editions BECAUSE people keep buying the pedal. You would think that would be enough for them to keep offering it on the main production line….but anyway..

Is the M2 the last manual BMW?

Possibly, and that part makes no sense. Reports point to the next-generation M3, likely arriving in 2028, keeping the twin-turbo straight-six but dropping the manual entirely (WHICH IS ABSURD). The current M4 sticks around a bit longer, but its successor is expected to abandon the six-speed too. That would leave the current M2 as the last BMW M where you row your own gears.

The MoneyShift take

This is what voting with your wallet actually looks like. Enthusiasts spent a decade posting save-the-manuals hashtags, and BMW ignored exactly none of it, because half of M2 buyers backed the hashtag with a signature. That also puzzles me about an eventual world without these cars. BMW has clearly seen that users want a manual, they buy them, and yet there could be a world without them? I am perplexed here. Also, can we cut the limited run nonsense? These things sold before they even touched the ground, gone, done, that means demand is there no? MAKE EM!

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