Even the M5 and M6 have manuals, but that probably won't last long either. M GmbH boss has publicly admitted that the only reason they put them in is because the American market (their largest market) throws such a hissy fit if they ever decided to exclude them and that he'd rather it just be DCT only.
In case no one believes me, here's the source (
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/18/s...rned-at-bmw-m/).
Quote:
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[Y]ou'll be able to spec either the seven-speed dual-clutch 'box or a six-speed manual [in the F10 M5]. This fact seems to irritate Biermann. "Here's the problem with the stick," Biermann tells us in a slightly annoyed tone, "only the U.S. wants it. And with the DCT, there's no question about how it will behave. With a manual, the driver is a serious question." Biermann's argument is clear: Driver's suck and the DCT is so good that a manual decreases the performance. Further – and this wasn't explicitly said but clearly implied – the amount of engineering resources that go into adapting the 560-hp sedan to accept a manual cog-swapper is significant. Biermann and his team would undoubtedly prefer to shift those funds and man hours into other endeavors, but they can't because the U.S. – M's largest market – demands it. And Biermann takes it one step further. "I don't know how long we'll be able to keep doing this, but at some point, we'll just have to say 'no'". So is the F10 the last of the manual M5s? We wouldn't be surprised.
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So manuals in M cars may soon be a thing of the past too.