It has become apparent over the years that car companies aren’t interested in selling their cars with manual transmissions. Public demand has waned, so many models aren’t even available with a manual option, despite those purists who know the joy and connection of taking a well-tuned manual car through her paces. Well, BMW agrees with those purists. Their forthcoming 2024 Z4 M40i model will once again put all of the control into the driver’s seat and deliver a classic standard transmission. The folks over at Autoblog were lucky enough to get behind the wheel of one of these Z4 prototypes, and were delighted by what they found.
A ZF 6-Speed Manual Transmission Designed For Performance
First of all, let’s look at that all-important manual transmission. It is a 6-speed ZF manual transmission that has been fine-tuned by BMW so that each gear change on the shifter has a “rubbery” (Autoblog’s term, not ours) perfection. This transmission is a traditional one—no flappy paddle shifters here. It’s a pure driving experience for those who want the best connection between themselves and their car.
Don’t Worry: The Rest of the Car Is Pretty Exciting Too
Beyond that 6-speed transmission, the rest of the Z4 M40i has also been modified to give the manual driver the best experience possible. The steering is recalibrated, the anti-roll bars are stiffer, and the car is set up with a staggered wheel set up for maximum enjoyment. In this case, the front has 19s and the rear 20s.
All of this means that the car is fully prepared to show off the 3-liter straight-six twin-turbo engine that is the only option that can receive the manual transmission package. The engine’s 328 hp with 369 lb-ft of torque should get you from 0-60 somwhere in the ballpark of 4 seconds (though there aren’t official times just yet).
The interior includes 12.3 and 10.2 inch displays which work seamlessly with both Apple CarPlay and Andriod Auto.
Live Your Manual Transmission Dreams With the 2024 Z4
The Z4 M40i will start being built at the beginning of 2024, and for once there isn’t going to be an artificial cap put on how many are being produced. The pricing is also still up in the air, but for comparison’s sake, the current model of the BMW Z4 M40i is hovering around $67,000. For more info and some cool pics of the prototype, Autoblog has you covered.
