Mini adds manual transmission to 2023 hardtop

Mini removed the six-speed manual from its options list in the spring, citing supply issues at the time and promising to bring back the transmission at a later date.

Then the sunset finally arrived, and Mini announced Thursday that the manual option will once again be available starting with the 2023 model year, which will be available for order starting in November.

The manual will initially only be available on the hardtop. Cooper, Cooper S, and John Cooper Works grades, but only in the distinctive two-door hardtop body style; four-door hardtop buyers will miss that opportunity.

The alternative to the manual is an eight-speed automatic.

Mini has not indicated whether the manual lineup will be added to other models. When it originally announced its 2023 lineup in February, Mini said that most of its hardtop, hardtop four-door, convertible, and Clubman grades would be available with manuals.

Mini also did not say whether it planned to reinstate the lower starting prices for the 2023 lineup that it initially announced in February. In other words, the cheapest model for 2023 will be the Cooper Hardtop Signature, with prices starting at $29,450. Previously, this model was announced to start at $24,250. Both figures include an $850 destination charge.