I have a 2006 MCSca. I had always hoped that BMW would relase a MINI with their SMG transmission (I loved this on the Z4 I had before the MINI). So I wound up getting an automatic.

One thing I don't like about it is the appearance of the shiter itself. It's too big and bulky, very clunky looking. Especially coming from the SMG shifter, which is small and discrete. I've been thinking that there is really no reason for the shifter to be so big. Why didn't they make it shorter and smaller and sportier? And make the button you press to allow it to move be simpler. I realize it's there to pevent people from accidentally shifting, but I find it annoying. The first time I drove the MINI I struggled with it to get it to let me shift. Manuals and SMG do without such safety devices, I'd be happy to abandon it completely.

And since BMW didn't, is it possible to do this ourselves, or might some third party manufacturer build a replacement? A smaller, simpler shifter might actually make manually shifting with it practical, even fun. As it is, I find it totally useless for manually shift gears; I shift soley with the steering wheel paddles.

I do imagine that this might be an expensive project (mostly because of having to deal with that damned button on the stick), probably more expensive than it's worth. But if something were available for under $200 I'd definitely buy it.