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Manual transmission-equipped BMW can be hard to find these days if you’re restricting yourself to new car dealerships. The iconic M5 performance sedan has abandoned the stick shift, and the next-generation M3 and M4 will only use a manual in a special “pure” version that’ll be less powerful than other versions.
But, once upon a time, the stick shift was a hallmark of the BMW brand. The company offered them in practically everything…even mass-market crossovers. And with a bit of hunting around, you can still find those rides on the used car market.
Take, for example, this 2010 BMW X3 3.0 M Sport with a six-speed manual, which just popped up for auction on Bring a Trailer. 2010 was the last year for the first-generation X3, which offered a stick shift as an option. (Perhaps wisely, BMW dropped it in North America for the second generation.)
This SUV has a 3.0-liter inline-six that put out 260 horsepower and 225 lb-ft when new. It comes with all-wheel-drive, an M Sport package with 18-inch wheels and a factory-optioned BMW sport suspension. It has about 87,000 miles on the clock and had a new transfer case installed in February.
The bidding for this rare gem is only (as of this writing) at around $4,000. That said, it should heat up in the coming days, so keep a close eye on it if you’re interested in taking home the sportiest SUV BMW ever made with a stick shift.
