The announcement does not signal the end of the M3 nameplate itself. A replacement is already planned, with both gasoline and electric versions set to continue the model’s lineage under a changing technical strategy.
BMW’s confirmation gives a clearer timeline for enthusiasts and buyers who have been watching the gradual transition away from manual transmissions and toward electrification. At the same time, the company is maintaining two parallel directions for the future M3 range.
Confirmation came through an interview with BMW Product Planning Specialist Scott Stirling published by BimmerLife, where he stated that 2027 will be the final model year for the sixth-generation M3 sold today.
BMW Confirms the End of the G80 Generation and Highlights the M3 CS Handschalter
BMW’s sixth-generation M3 has already entered the 2027 model year in the United States, and that model year will also be its last.
Speaking to BimmerLife, Scott Stirling explained that the limited-production M3 CS Handschalter for North America was conceived as a farewell model for the current generation. Stirling was also identified as the person who convinced BMW leadership in Munich to approve the project.
The M3 CS Handschalter becomes part of a small group of North America-exclusive BMW special editions, alongside the E92 Lime Rock and E36 Lightweight.
No official production end date was provided during the interview. Motor1 reported that an insider posting on the Bimmer Post forums claimed final G80 production is expected in February 2027.
The next gasoline-powered M3 is expected to arrive later, with production beginning in 2028. The future model carries the internal codename G84 and will become the first gasoline-powered M3 produced outside Munich, with manufacturing moving to Dingolfing.
BMW Prepares Separate Gasoline and Electric Successors
BMW is not moving to a single replacement strategy. An electric M3 identified internally as ZA0 is scheduled to enter production in Munich next year. The publication reported that BMW has already previewed the model multiple times and described it as using four electric motors along with simulated V10 sounds and artificial gear changes.
The electric model is expected to use an M-specific battery pack with a net capacity exceeding 100 kWh. Output will exceed the 463 horsepower available in the i3 50 xDrive.
For buyers staying with combustion power, BMW plans to retain a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine in the next gasoline M3. Neue Klasse program head Dr. Mike Reichelt stated that the future car will use a “new type of six-cylinder engine.” The model is expected to adopt mild-hybrid technology to meet stricter European emissions requirements.
Manual Transmission Approaches Its Final Years at BMW M
The transition also affects the transmission strategy. The next M3 is expected to be sold only with an automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. If that happens, the M3 CS Handschalter would become the final expression of the manual, rear-wheel-drive formula for the M3.
BMW is not ending manuals immediately. The current-generation M2 and M4 are expected to remain in production until closer to the end of the decade, preserving access to a stick shift and rear-wheel drive for several more years.
M division boss Frank van Meel explained the challenge facing manuals:
“It’s going to be quite difficult in the future to develop completely new gearboxes because the segment in the market is quite small, and the suppliers are not so keen on doing something like that. So we’re still happy with the manuals we have, and we plan to keep them for the next couple of years, but in the future, probably it’s going to be more difficult to keep the manuals alive, especially in the next decade.”
There is still time for buyers to order a manual M3. If production ends in February 2027 as reported, order books are unlikely to close before the end of this year. Production of the M3 CS Handschalter begins in July in limited numbers for the United States, with only 40 units allocated to Canada. Pricing starts at $108,450 in the United States before options for the manual CS, while the standard M3 starts at $80,650.
