BMW in recent years has been offering its fiery M cars in base and better-equipped Competition grades, and in some cases also hardcore CS and CSL grades.
However, the base grade will be dropped in the future and the Competition grade made the new point of entry to the range.
The information was revealed by BMW M chief Frank van Meel during the press launch for the 2024 i5 electric sedan, Car Throttle reported in September.
It was later confirmed to The Drive by a BMW USA spokesperson who said base M cars in the future won’t actually use the Competition name but will feature the same level of equipment as the current Competition grades.
Without the current base grade, the starting price of an M car will likely rise in the future. However, most customers are already opting for the Competition grade over the base car, according to van Meel. In some markets, the base grade isn’t even offered.
Also on its way out at BMW M are manual and dual-clutch automatic transmissions, Dirk Hacker, BMW M’s head of development, said in a June interview. He said the torque converter-based automatic will become the sole option, partly due to the transmission being more suited to electrified vehicles but also due to suppliers starting to phase out the alternatives.
Depending on the market, a manual transmission can still be ordered on the M2, M3, and M4.
