{"id":85797,"date":"2026-06-18T09:18:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85797"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:18:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:18:28","slug":"bmw-defends-electric-m3-simulated-gearbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85797","title":{"rendered":"BMW Defends The Electric M3\u2019s Simulated Gearbox: &#8216;It\u2019s Essential&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"post-summary-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"post-summary-title\">Article Summary<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"post-summary-list\">\n<li>When the BMW M3 ZA0 arrives next year, it&#8217;s going to have a simulated gearbox, echoing the M Concept Neue Klasse.<\/li>\n<li>BMW M claims that changing gears will help the driver get a better sense of the vehicle&#8217;s speed when going through a corner.<\/li>\n<li>BMW wants to take best parts of a conventional gearbox while avoiding its drawbacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>When the M Concept Neue Klasse broke cover at Le Mans over the weekend, just about everyone focused on the styling, and rightfully so. BMW didn\u2019t share any new technical specifications, aside from reiterating that the electric sports sedan has four motors. There was, however, an interesting detail many people missed, which we covered in a separate article: shift paddles.<\/p>\n<p>In an EV, paddles behind the steering wheel are usually used to adjust the level of regenerative braking. In the electric M3 concept, they serve a different purpose, allowing the driver to cycle through simulated gear changes. While I did my best to explain the reasoning behind this decision and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/06\/14\/bmw-electric-m3-shift-paddles\/\">why it makes sense<\/a>, we\u2019ll defer to BMW M\u2019s new Head of Development to elaborate on the thinking behind it.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with UK magazine <em>Piston Heads<\/em>, Alexander Karajlovic went as far as to say that simulated gear changes are \u201cessential\u201d in a performance EV. Why? We\u2019ve included the full quote below:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-514456 size-medium\" title=\"BMW M CONCEPT NEUE KLASSE LE MANS 08\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13-830x553.jpg\" alt=\"BMW M CONCEPT NEUE KLASSE 13\" width=\"830\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13-830x553.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bmw-m-concept-neue-klasse-13.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"10\">\n<p>\u201cOn the track, with gears, you know how quick you are going into each corner. Simulated ratios will help this be maintained in the electric car. I won\u2019t say we\u2019re fully copying a gearbox [characteristics] as then we\u2019d copy the negatives. We need to find the good things and then use those to enhance the driving experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Interestingly, BMW won\u2019t replicate Hyundai\u2019s N e-Shift feature found in the Ioniq 5 N and Ioniq 6 N, where torque delivery is artificially limited depending on the simulated gear. Instead, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/06\/13\/bmw-confirms-new-m3-models-will-mirror-the-concept\/\">electric M3<\/a> will deliver the \u201csame torque throughout.\u201d That approach won\u2019t hinder performance, which makes sense when you\u2019re on a track and want to extract everything the car is capable of delivering.<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s Not Just Hyundai And BMW. Porsche And Mercedes Are Also Introducing Simulated Gearboxes<\/h2>\n<p>Hyundai paved the way, and now luxury brands are following suit with simulated gear shifts. This very week, Porsche rolled out an optional E-Shift feature across all versions of the 2027 Taycan. Earlier this year, the new Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe broke cover with virtual gears that mimic the eight-speed automatic found in the company\u2019s combustion-engine vehicles.<\/p>\n<p>Faux gear changes are a smaller \u201cissue\u201d than the internet would have you believe. Automakers won\u2019t force drivers to use simulated gears, making the debate largely irrelevant. A bigger concern is the gradual demise of manual gearboxes in gasoline-powered cars, but BMW M has pledged to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/06\/11\/bmw-still-sees-bright-future-manuals-us\/\">keep the three-pedal setup alive<\/a> for as long as possible. That said, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2026\/01\/26\/2028-bmw-m3-spy-photos\/\">new M3 G84<\/a>, expected as early as 2028, could be automatic-only.<\/p>\n<p><iframe type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"cmplazyload\" data-cmp-vendor=\"s30\" data-cmp-purpose=\"c52\" title=\"BMW M Concept Neue Klasse \u2014 Full Design Walkthrough with Head of M Design\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-cmp-type=\"text\/plain\" data-cmp-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hzIDzSDI3sU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Summary When the BMW M3 ZA0 arrives next year, it&#8217;s going to have a simulated gearbox, echoing the M Concept Neue Klasse. BMW M claims that changing gears will help the driver get a better sense of the vehicle&#8217;s speed when going through a corner. BMW wants to take best parts of a conventional [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}