BMW sends off the 6th-gen M3 CS with a manual gearbox, rear-wheel drive

BMW M’s next major work will be next year’s all-electric quad-motor M3, derived from the Neue Klasse i3. And we can’t imagine there’s a three-pedal version of that one in the works, sadly. BMW’s briefing materials for the M3 CS Handschalter note that the 3.0 L S58 engine is also used, in modified form, in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo that won the Rolex 24 at Daytona this year.

BMW has had a fair degree of success with the M4 GT3 Evo, as it also won last year’s Nurbürgring 24, among other races. The only M race car with an S58 engine anyone cared about at this year’s N24 started life as an April Fool’s joke. The N24 combines everything from GT3 cars down to Volkswagen Golfs, and does so across not just the modern F1-grade GP Circuit but also the entire stretch of the Nordschleife, with its narrow straights, crests, drops, and dozens of blind corners.

Watching driver onboards is frankly terrifying, given the speed differentials. This year’s race had a pair of stars.

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