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

宝马以手动变速箱和后轮驱动为第六代 M3 CS 画上句号

The march of time, and what counts for progress in the automotive industry, has not been particularly kind to the driving enthusiast. Our vehicles have gotten bigger and heavier. Touch-sensitive panels and screens replaced buttons. Steering feel evaporated about a decade ago. And if you’re a fan of changing your own gears with a stick shift and three pedals, things have been looking bleak for a while now. 时光的流逝以及汽车行业所谓的“进步”，对驾驶爱好者来说并不友好。我们的车辆变得越来越大、越来越重。触控面板和屏幕取代了实体按键。转向手感在大约十年前就已消失殆尽。如果你是一位热衷于通过手动挡杆和三个踏板来换挡的粉丝，那么近来的前景一直显得相当黯淡。

Which makes BMW’s send-off for its current sixth-generation M3 so notable. BMW’s M division kept the six-speed manual alive for the G80 M3, but only the normal version. If you wanted the more powerful, much torquier M3 Competition or the track-focused M3 CS (Competition Sport), the only transmission choice was an eight-speed automatic. 这使得宝马为其现款第六代 M3 推出的告别之作显得格外引人注目。宝马 M 部门虽然为 G80 M3 保留了六速手动变速箱，但仅限于普通版本。如果你想要动力更强、扭矩更大的 M3 Competition 或专注于赛道的 M3 CS（Competition Sport），唯一的变速箱选择就是八速自动变速箱。

That automatic happens to be the excellent ZF 8HP gearbox, and for being fast on track, I’d still choose it, because that makes left-foot braking easier. Using paddle shifts might be faster, but I won’t pretend it’s more engaging than coordinating the movement of a gearstick through its gate, timed properly to the action of the clutch—especially if you’re heel-and-toeing, but even if you use the auto-blip feature that revs the engines for you on downshifts now. 这款自动变速箱恰好是出色的采埃孚（ZF）8HP，若是在赛道上追求速度，我依然会选择它，因为它让左脚刹车变得更容易。使用换挡拨片或许更快，但我不会假装它比手动操作挡杆、精准配合离合器动作更有参与感——尤其是当你进行跟趾动作时，即便现在有自动补油功能帮你完成降档时的转速匹配，手动换挡依然无可替代。

BMW appears to recognize that too, because it says the 2027 M3 CS Handschalter is designed for maximum driver engagement, and just for North America. 宝马似乎也意识到了这一点，因此他们表示 2027 款 M3 CS “Handschalter”（德语意为手动挡）专为追求极致驾驶参与感而设计，且仅面向北美市场发售。

The $107,100 M3 doesn’t use the more powerful engine from the M3 Competition, but the same 473 hp (353 kW) inline six-cylinder engine as the regular six-speed M3. But it’s a lighter car, to the tune of about 75 lbs (34 kg) thanks to things like a titanium exhaust muffler, carbon-fiber seats, carbon ceramic brakes, lighter wheels, and plenty of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic for body panels. And instead of the ZF 8HP, there’s a six-speed manual, which sends its power to the rear wheels and the rear wheels only: There’s no xDrive AWD here, unlike the M3 Competition. 这款售价 107,100 美元的 M3 并没有使用 M3 Competition 上那台动力更强的发动机，而是沿用了普通六速手动版 M3 上那台 473 马力（353 kW）的直列六缸发动机。但得益于钛合金排气消音器、碳纤维座椅、碳陶刹车、更轻的轮毂以及大量碳纤维增强塑料车身面板，整车减重约 75 磅（34 公斤）。此外，它放弃了采埃孚 8HP，换装了六速手动变速箱，并将动力仅传递至后轮：与 M3 Competition 不同，这里没有 xDrive 四驱系统。

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. 宝马 M 部门的下一个重大项目将是明年推出的纯电动四电机 M3，该车源自 Neue Klasse i3 平台。遗憾的是，我们无法想象那款车会有手动挡版本。

In BMW’s briefing materials for the M3 CS Handschalter, it notes 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. 在宝马为 M3 CS Handschalter 准备的简报资料中提到，其 3.0 升 S58 发动机经过改装后，也应用于今年赢得戴通纳 24 小时耐力赛（Rolex 24 at Daytona）的宝马 M4 GT3 Evo 赛车上。宝马 M4 GT3 Evo 取得了相当不错的成绩，它还赢得了去年的纽博格林 24 小时耐力赛等多个赛事冠军。

This year’s race had a pair of stars. Max Verstappen took time off from his F1 job, got his Nürburgring race permit, and then showed that he could absolutely cut it with the world’s best sports car drivers on the world’s most challenging racetrack. Even if you’re a Verstappen hater, it’s worth watching some of his onboard footage from the race just to see a master at work. 今年的比赛有两位明星。马克斯·维斯塔潘（Max Verstappen）从 F1 工作中抽身，获得了纽博格林赛车执照，并证明了自己在世界上最具挑战性的赛道上，完全能够与世界顶尖的跑车车手一较高下。即使你讨厌维斯塔潘，也值得看看他比赛中的车载录像，去欣赏一位大师的操作。

But Verstappen wasn’t the only headline attraction, because he had to share plenty of attention with the BMW M3 Touring. Originally thought up as a joke last year, overwhelmingly positive feedback meant BMW had to make it a reality for 2026. The powertrain is identical to the M4 race car, but the M3 Touring bodywork is unique. And just look at it! Although the M3 Touring only qualified 22nd overall, it moved forward quickly and spent much of the race in contention—if not for a win, then a podium. 但维斯塔潘并不是唯一的焦点，因为他必须与宝马 M3 Touring 分享大量的关注。这款车最初只是去年开的一个玩笑，但由于反响极其热烈，宝马不得不将其在 2026 年变为现实。其动力系统与 M4 赛车相同，但 M3 Touring 的车身设计独一无二。看看它吧！尽管 M3 Touring 在排位赛中仅排在总成绩第 22 位，但它在正赛中迅速追赶，并在比赛的大部分时间里都处于竞争行列——即便没能夺冠，也足以登上领奖台。