Half Of All BMW M2s In The U.S. Are Manual, Showing That Good Taste Isn't DeadJalopnikAndy KalmowitzTue, September 8, 2026 at 3:25 PM UTCAdd us on GoogleBMWThe vast majority of new car buyers aren't really interested in cars with manual transmissions, but there are clearly some true heroes and patriots in the U.S. who want to carry the flame and row their own gears. I know I'm one of them. You probably are too, and, as it turns out, so are a number of BMW M2 buyers in the United States. That's right, according to BMW M CEO Frank van Meel, half of all M2s sold Stateside are optioned with a stick. And people said American exceptionalism was dead.It's pretty wild to think about, especially when you consider the eight-speed M Sport Steptronic automatic transmission that can be fitted to the M2 as a zero-dollar option, making it both quicker and more convenient, but half of buyers don't give a crap, and I salute them. M is paying attention to this trend, van Meel told Motor1, saying "especially in the U.S. the love for the manual transmission is enormous." He pointed to the M2's manual take rate as the reason why the automaker decided to build the very sick M3 CS Hanschalter — a six-speed, special-edition M3 that'll be built in "very limited numbers" specifically for the U.S. and Canada. Apparently, the car was pretty much sold out "immediately."Read more: 10 Of The Largest Private Car Collections In The WorldBM(anual)WBMWBMW has been doing the whole limited-run manual thing for a while now. Motor1 pointed to the M2 Turbo Design Edition as another manual-only limited-edition M-car meant only for the U.S. market, but that's not quite the only time BMW has given us a manual because we asked really nicely. Lest we forget, toward the end of the Z4's run, BMW launched the Z4 M40i Hanschalter, which gave us access to a six-speed drop-top Bimmer roadster once again.AdvertisementAdvertisementUnfortunately, the proliferation of BMW manuals hasn't really made its way through the rest of its lineup. Currently, the M2, M3 and M4 are the only vehicles that the brand sells with a clutch pedal, and that's only with rear-wheel drive variants. All-wheel-drive carsmust have the eight-speed auto. I'm not sure we're ever going to see a regular, non-M 2, 3 or 4 Series with a stick shift ever again, cool as that might be, and we almost certainly will never see a manual 5 Series ever again — M5 or not. That would just be ludicrous in this day and age.There just isn't the demand for non-enthusiast cars like non-M BMWs to come with a stick shift. If there was, clearly BMW would jump at the opportunity. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I am, but I never have been before.At the very least, we can take solace in knowing that the option is still out there, and enthusiasts are willing to pay for the privilege of driving a manual BMW M car. For the rest of us, well, I guess we either need to start saving for the pricey high-performance stuff or look to the used market.Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.