*the last proper Ultimate Driving Machine.

Hell, the Ultimate Driving Machine isn't a BMW. Its a Porsche.

 

I might disagree on your choice. Mine was the e46 with a MANUAL TRANSMISSION and not the SMG3.

 

E46 M3 and the E39 M5 is peak BMW. Everything after started to get a bit soft. The F87 M2 IMO was the last old-school BMW M car.

 

What is it about manuals that get in your blood in a way PDK's can't?

 

Depends on who's blood. I have been driving and racing manuals since I was 15 years old. Even heel-toe double clutching down shifts back in the day. A few years ago I complete gave up on manuals. I can't stand them, I get instant road rage driving one. I can tolerate 10 minutes with a manual then I am done. I find PDKs and good modern slush box autos a joy to drive, especially on track.

 

I don’t paddle shift. I truly dislike it. But give me a stick and either a normally aspirated or SC’d engine and I’m the pinball wizard. But…that’s just me.

 

To each his own. If you're getting instant road rage from anything though you ought to look into it.

Both of my Porsches are PDK including a Spyder so I know them and like them and yes, the PDK is faster than a manual on a track. But my one and only manual is the car I end up taking most just because it's more fun to drive on a back road. I spent the last 6 years without a manual and though I'd never have another but now it feels like an old friend has returned.

 

I did look into it.

I hired a blue ribbon panel of racing drivers, engineers and psychiatric experts. They all agreed. I should stop driving cars with manual transmissions.