Six cylinders and six gears are rare enough, but this 340i also has 460hp...
It’s exciting to have a straight-six, six-speed sports car back from BMW in the form of. With its old-school powertrain and colour combo, it’ll likely be a hit with purists. But, truthfully, BMW’s sports cars have never quite hit the spot; all the best straight-six, manual cars with the blue and white roundel have had a fixed roof.
Whether it’s something rare groove like a Z4 3.0 Si, a cult classic like the 1M or a hand-built hero like the E34 M5, there are all manner of cars out there that show off BMW’s expertise very well indeed. Even with far from the best manual gearboxes ever made, there’s something about the more direct connection with a great engine offered by a stick and a third pedal that makes them very desirable. An auto just isn’t the same, as used values for equivalents will attest to.
In recent model generations, however, the case for the manual has become harder and harder to make. With the advent of dual-clutch transmissions for M cars and the very good ZF 8HP for the mainstream stuff, the six-speeds became slower and less efficient; you had to really want a manual gearbox to put up with one. In which case, older cars must be on the radar as well. The new BMWs were being designed with the autos in mind, because that’s what people wanted, and it showed.
Somebody knew what they were doing here, for sure. In addition to the manual gearbox, this one also benefits from an M Performance exhaust and an ECU tickle from DMS, meaning 460hp. Or more power than an M3 Competition of the period. Next stop for the ultimate Q car F30 would surely be a limited-slip diff, then you could really get to work on the famously tuneable B58 3.0-litre…
We’re getting ahead of ourselves. It’s going to make a lovely thing as is, because the power is ample, the gearbox cool and the sound likely to be superb. This hasn’t been some high mileage hack, either, showing just 38k since new and with a full BMW service history to back it up. New pads have just gone on, too. Somebody have loved it, which makes sense because this is the sort of spec you’d really have to seek out - everybody else would be more than happy with the auto.
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