Every second G87 BMW M2 sold in the United States comes with a manual transmission, according to M CEO Frank van Meel. He didn’t offer that number as a standalone fact. He used it to explain a separate decision: why BMW built the M3 CS Handschalter, a limited-run manual-only special edition that sold out almost as soon as it went on sale.

A 50 percent take rate on a manual gearbox would be a remarkable number for any car in 2026. The M2 is a sports coupe that could have shipped without a clutch pedal at all and nobody at BMW would have batted an eye, given how the rest of the segment has gone. Van Meel didn’t frame it as a surprise, though. He used it as evidence for a broader point about U.S. demand, then pointed straight at the payoff: “Rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission are the dream combination for many purists. That is why we also made a limited model with a manual transmission for the U.S. Demand was enormous; the car was practically sold out immediately.”

That “limited model” isn’t a special M2. It’s the M3 CS Handschalter, a rear-wheel-drive-only, manual-only version of the outgoing M3 built specifically for North America. Van Meel is drawing a straight line between the two cars: the M2’s take rate is the data point, the CS Handschalter is what BMW did about it. Whether that translates into a manual staying on the order sheet for the next M3, or the next M2, is a separate question van Meel didn’t answer directly. But the number he did give is hard to argue with, and it’s worth putting the CS Handschalter in context alongside the rest of BMW’s shrinking manual lineup.

Where The CS Handschalter Fits

The M3 CS Handschalter starts at $108,450 and undercuts the automatic, xDrive-based M3 CS by roughly $11,000. It’s rear-wheel drive only, manual only, built specifically for North America, and BMW hasn’t said how many it’s making. We’re estimating around 600-700 units. It also arrives as the current G80 M3’s likely send-off: the model is expected to wind down around February 2027, and its replacement is widely reported to drop the manual entirely in favor of xDrive-only, automatic-only power. If that holds, the CS Handschalter isn’t just a limited edition riding on the M2’s popularity. It’s the last manual M3 BMW will ever build.

The Z4 M40i used to round out BMW’s manual lineup, but that ended in the spring, when the G29 went out of production with a Final Edition and no confirmed successor. That leaves the M2, base M3, and base M4 as the only manual BMWs sold in the U.S. today, and with the M3’s replacement reportedly going automatic-only, the M2 may end up the one holdout still standing once the CS Handschalter’s run is over.

Now the question is this: it’s the BMW M2 manual story getting ready for a new chapter? Time will tell…

First published by https://www.bmwblog.com