There is something immensely satisfying about driving a car at its limit. The feeling through the steering wheel and your backside of the tyres relinquishing the last of their grip on the tarmac as you power out of the corner, the aural delight of the engine racing hard through its final revolutions before the red line, and that deeply tactile action of depressing the clutch and slotting the gear lever home into third gear in one slick move before the engines power hurtles you further forward. Get all those things spot on and working together, and the thrill of driving is never bettered. Or is it?
As autonomous driving looms ever larger in our rear-view mirror, there has been, up till this point in our history, only gentle evolution of performance car parts and touch points to enhance that experience; stronger grip through better tyres, chassis and suspension, more speed from increases in power and stronger torque through continual development of the Internal Combustion Engine. But one often overlooked mechanical assembly that has significantly evolved over the past decades, is how we transmit that power to the road, and that’s through the automated shifting of gears.
Whether a manual or automated gearbox provides the best driving experience is a highly divisive subject. The ability to shift cogs manually is, as we’ve established, a deeply tactile experience. It connects us as humans in a very mechanical way to the car, making us an integrated part of the driving experience, perhaps in a way which pulling on one paddle or another does not. As the great Gilles Villeneuve stated to his engineers when testing Ferrari’s early attempts at an Automated F1 gearbox at Fiorano in 1980, “if you take away the pleasure of changing gears manually, engaging the clutch, you kill me”.
The one thing that is not open for debate, is that the end is nigh for manual gearboxes in M Cars. Whilst the last generation F8X M3 and M4 Comp were available with Manual boxes, (just try to find one on the BMW UK Approved website to see how rare they are), the latest G8X series M3 and M4 is only available with automatic gearboxes on the high-powered Competition model, the only model coming to these British shores. Although, it must be noted that a Manual version is available on the regular non-Competition model sold in Europe and the US, just not to us Brits for some reason.
M3 Automatisch History
The first production M3 fitted with an automated gearbox produced by Getrag appeared in the E36 M3 facelifted model produced from 1995. Known as SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox), the 6-speed gearbox was not actually a Sequential gearbox but instead used hydraulic actuation of the regular M3’s manual gearbox. The key benefit of this was that gears could be skipped when moving up or down through the gearbox, unlike a real sequential gearbox where every gear has to be passed through when going through the cogs. Production quantities were low, reportedly around 500 worldwide, and if the various forums are to be believed, this first iteration was slow, and plagued with reliability issues.
In 2000, BMW released the next generation E46 M3. Using a hydraulically automated version of the regular M3’s Getrag 420G six speed manual box, this version was known as the SMG II. Like its predecessor, the gearbox was not a true sequential box, but reliability was greatly improved, and its performance in relation and shift times were far more aggressive, with the changes in the ultimate CSL version, which used uprated software, shifting cogs in as quick as 80ms.
Although the SMG technology had one last outing in the E6X M5 / M6 series, the next series of M3, the E9X, moved to a completely new technology. Released in 2007 as a Manual only, a 7-speed sequential Dual Clutch Transmission or M-DCT box, again built by Getrag was introduced the following year. Whereas the SMG used a single clutch solution, the M-DCT, as its name suggests, used two separate clutches for odd and even gear sets allowing the next gear to be pre-engaged for brutally quick gear changes. Whilst no official gear change times were quoted by BMW, unlike the SMG gearbox, there was a 0.5 second benefit in the 0 to 62mph acceleration time versus the manual gearbox for the E90 and E92 models. But perhaps most importantly, a trend had started. Out of the 65,917 E9X M3’s produced worldwide, 43,322 were built with DCT gearboxes, the first M3 model to sell more automated boxes than manual.
In 2014, BMW launched the F8X series M3 (and now M4 moniker for the Coupe), and continued using DCT technology, so that meant having a 7-speed sequential gearbox, again designed by Getrag. The main difference this time round of course was that the gearbox was now mated to a torque laden forced induction / twin turbo unit rather than the high revving normally aspirated motors of the past. And perhaps most interesting of all, according to BMW UK, 99% of all F8X M3 & M4’s sold in 2019 were sold with the DCT box.
And for the 2021 M3 (and M4), known as the G8X series, the rule book has been ripped up again. It has followed its bigger brother, the M5, and so for the very first time in an M3/M4, we see an 8 speed Torque Convertor Gearbox installed, this time manufactured by ZF. That’s right, the race bred SMG and DCT boxes are now consigned to the vaults of M-Car history.
Driving
Like all M-Car owners I know the benefit, or not, of new technology being implemented is always a hotly debated topic, but for me it comes down to the question, what’s it like to drive?
First up let’s talk about the SMG II as fitted to the E46 M3, and specifically the E46 M3 CSL. Now this is the ultimate incarnation, the 6 GTR cars aside, of the E46 M3 and the CSL was only ever fitted with the SMG II gearbox. What first strikes you about the CSL’s gearbox is that it feels both of its time, but an integral part of what the car is about. As an Automatic box it very occasionally swaps cogs seamlessly, which honestly took me by surprise, but when you’re pushing on it starts to makes more sense.
As we head up around the back of Goodwood Race Course, I am constantly pulling on the tiny paddles, up and down the lower half of the gearbox as I go back and forth through a series of S bends. The downshifts, especially 3rd to 2nd, are just sublime; fast and punchy. Going up the box, things are not quite as satisfying, at times feeling slow, clunky, and occasionally I could nip off and put the kettle on before the next gear slots home. Cruel? Maybe a little unfair, but this gearbox, along with that wonderful induction howl from the Carbon Fibre intake attached to the S54 HP engine under the bonnet, just defines the whole essence of this wonderful car.
I know a few CSL (and SMG II CS) owners, and they all rave about these gearboxes. Sure, it’s probably better suited to the track than the road, but when everything comes together it is a truly wonderous and immersive part of the driving experience, and only amplifies just how special the CSL feels as a car to drive; and that seals the deal as far as I’m concerned.
Now sure, you can convert the SMG II gearbox back to a 6 speed Manual box, and you’ll see plenty online about this as it’s relatively cost effective modification to do compared to some of the maintenance costs around the SMG box, specifically the SMG pump; if that fails, parts and labour are usually £2,500 upwards. Ouch.
Moving on to the DCT box fitted in the E90, E92 and E93 M3, this, unsurprisingly, is a totally different experience especially after being in the CSL. The E90 M3 I’m in feels far more grown up as a car; bigger, quieter, and alas, heavier. But we’re here to talk gearboxes. With the 2012 DCT Software upgrade I’m running on this M3, progress, after the initial start cycle, is smooth and comfortable. But this is an M3, so pushing the M button winds this car up and she just goes. The way in which the power builds and the max torque comes in through the rev range, means that you are effortlessly and safely in control of what is being sent to the rear wheels. There’s no spikey turbo torque fest to be frightened of here. Pull another paddle and you get a proper aggressive shove in the back, which along with the screaming V8, makes you feel like you’re in a race car.
The auto blipping on the down shifts in Manual is addictive, making me change down gears for the sheer hell of it as we head through the Sussex countryside. But put it back in to Auto and keep everything wound up, and you can make some seriously rapid progress. The automatic element of this Getrag built M-DCT box is so impressive, that even when out for pre breakfast spirited drives, leaving it in Auto is nearly as satisfying as pulling a paddle or two; that’s quite a compliment.
But a little word of warning. On wet or cold roads, you have to be sensible. Full speed shifts mixed with high engine revs is a sure-fire way to break traction, those full bore DCT shifts are pretty brutal so they do deserve respect, but on dry roads with quality tyres, this E90 just flies.
The F8X series M3 and M4 meanwhile used a twin turbo unit for the first time, delivering a huge amount of torque with low down delivery versus the previous generations, and provided even in standard guise quite a different driving experience from the normally aspirated V8 of the previous generation. And in the M4 GTS I’m driving in today, everything is turned up to 11. In fact, it feels far more akin to the CSL than the E90, what with its stunning orange roll cage and stripped out interior; it’s an absolute race car with a very trick cold-water injection system over the standard car. Who would have thought water can make a petrol engine car go faster? And not just a little bit faster either. Power and torque both increased substantially over the base power unit, giving 493bhp and 442lbft of torque, and that translated into delimited top speed of 190mph and 0 to 62mph time via its 7 speed Getrag DCT gearbox of just 3.8 seconds.
On full bore acceleration in Sport mode, up shifting from 2nd to 3rd, the warm Cup 2’s break traction, overwhelmed by the torque of the engine. And to repeat, this is on warm Cup 2’s. Whilst the break is momentary it is enough to halt that last percentage of forward momentum, which is slightly frustrating. It’s almost like the gearbox and engine software need to be harmonised better. But nevertheless, it feels engaging through the DCT box, and that traction break is almost like a fault you have to drive around to get the very best out of the car; and for that you have to love it.
And so, we come to the latest incarnation of the M3 (and M4), the G8X series. And here for the first time, deep breath, we find a ZF made 8 speed traditional Torque Convertor gearbox installed. Blimey. But what is so different to any previous generation is just how civilised this latest M3 is. If you ignore the Carbon bucket seats and the M buttons atop of the steering wheel, you’d actually think you were in a lesser M Sport model, it really is that well behaved.
So, after the first day of driving the new M3 I’m left wanting, that brutality associated with the DCT gear changes in previous M Cars is missing, that brutality which feels like a direct physical connection to the drivetrain. The ZF box is a totally different experience, being quite grown up and smooth in its gear change, more executive than sporty.
It took a few days and quite a few miles to figure out that an engine as potent as the S58, (510 hp and a staggering 650 Nm of Torque potent!), would just not have worked with a DCT gearbox. As mentioned, in the F8X generation, and to some extent the E9X before it (in the wet), the DCT box in its Sport setting would cause the rear tyres to be overwhelmed at maximum engine rev changes, breaking traction momentarily on that second to third gear change and halting, albeit for only a few milliseconds, forward progress. But the ZF gearbox in this M3 & M4 just doesn’t overwhelm the rear tyres in quite the same way, meaning you get more traction more of the time and no disruption in your forward momentum; it really feels like it has your back in the traction department.
Conclusion
It would be easy to conclude that automated gearboxes are just a necessary evil in modern M cars to handle the ever-increasing power and torque outputs. But the reality is that they are what the majority of the buying public, if not the enthusiasts, are wanting, the new car sales figures don’t lie. And let’s not forget, the more recent Torque Convertor and DCT gearboxes are more fuel efficient and change gear far quicker than you can in a manual, meaning you’ll make swifter progress.
When driving, are they as engaging and immersive as a manual gearbox? No, of course they aren’t, they’re just not as tactile or physically engaging, but they are in their own way an essential part of the modern M Car driving experience, bringing a balance of race technology and an ease of driving, which ultimately brings more of that M capability to more of the people, and I think in reflection, that has to a good thing.