BMW M: twin-clutch auto is dead, and the last manual gearbox will be the M2's

Looks like the future of M's performance car transmissions rests with torque converters. *Sigh*

4 comments

The latest slushbox autos are admittedly brilliant but they just don't have the raw racecar feel of a DCT or the driver engagement of a manual. BMW real seems to have evolved away from what I'm looking for in a car. I like to keep cars long term so my current fleet will serve me well for quite a while to come but I have no idea what I'll do if/when it's finally time to replace any of them...
- I feel like I'm the only person on earth who thinks that the ZF-8 in the 3-series is unrefined (on deceleration only). I've driven the current and prior gen and they both were really jerky when slowing to a stop. It seemed like it was downshifting the whole way to 1st when braking but it did it in both Sport and Comfort/Eco mode.
  
  It's definitely very tune dependant. The ZF 8HP in my 2011 X3 28i is okay at best but the one in my 2020 X3 M40i is brilliant. It'll also downshift when braking but only when braking hard enough to make it appropriate; under normal easy braking it's still nice and smooth.
The reason is the US market. And catering to them exclusively has always been a success for Eurpean manufacturers hasn't it ?