Motoring in Spain - BMW M6 - Comments
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BMW M6
Poster: Charlie Flindt 01/07/2007
Jump to CommentsIT MIGHT NOT ALWAYS HAVE BEEN A SMOOTH RIDE FOR BMW’S 6 SERIES BUT, AS OUR MOTORING CORRESPONDENT CHARLIE FLINDT DISCOVERS, THE M6 CONVERTIBLE IS MOVING QUICKLY – VERY QUICKLY – TO RECTIFY THAT.
In some ways, the 6-Series has been an odd member of BMW’s stable. It has seemed overlooked and ignored. It isn’t like the stalwart 3 or 5 Series, who have been faithfully trundling along for years, with all sorts of variants within each range. It has been overshadowed by the amazing pure sports cars that BMW have been coming up with in recent years, and it has perhaps been even more pushed into the background by the hugely successful off-roaders that the German giants have been building.The 6 series also suffers (if that’s the right word) from two disadvantages: first, it tends to come and go.
The first range arrived in 1976 and vanished in 1989. And it wasn’t until 2003 that it reappeared. The second “problem” is the narrowness of the range: both the old version and the new one are only available in two-door format − the Mk1 as a coupe, and the Mk 2 as coupe or convertible.But now a new member has arrived in the 6-series family. And it carries a rather distinctive message to the rest of the stable and to the rest of the motoring world. The message is: “Don’t you dare neglect the 6-series. I am the new M6 Convertible – ignore me at your peril!”This is a machine of superlatives, of new records – it is almost the Olympic motto in automotive form. So much so that it is almost impossible to know where to start. That’s nonsense, actually. It’s obvious where to start.The M6 is fast. Very fast. If BMW hadn’t restricted it, the M6 would be capable of nearly 320 kph, which makes it the fastest production soft-top BMW so far.
Rather sensibly, though, it is limited to a somewhat more conventional 250 kph. And it is certainly a very special engine that propels two tonnes of machine to these sorts of speeds, not to mention the acceleration time of 4.6 seconds to 100 kph.It is such a special engine that it has won the International Engine of the Year Award for two years running – something that has never been done before. I have to confess that I’m not sure how the esteemed members of the panel who vote for “International Engine of the Year” reach their verdict, but if their decision is based on clever technology, it’s no surprise that the M6’s powerplant won.
It’s a V10, 5-litre unit – that much is simple. But there are complicated features like the Bi-VANOS variable valve technology, and the fact that each of those 10 cylinders has its own throttle butterfly valve for optimum “breathing”. Luckily, the M6 has the MS S65 engine management system on board, capable of 200 million calculations per second to do all the hard work. The result is a power output of 378 kW at a staggeringly high 7,750 rpm.
Some features are more obvious to us simple souls: the engine oil pumps have been specially designed to operate efficiently at the high G-forces the M6 is capable of inflicting on itself. So if the engine needs help because of all that high performance, what about the driver? He or she (although BMW estimates that 95 per cent of the owners of the M6 will be men) will, of course, be fine. If there’s one thing that BMW do better than engine technology, it’s ergonomics – the science of convenient confiness. You sit in fabulous Merino leather sports seats, with dozens of individual adjustments, scanning a dashboard that, once again, shows that simplicity is best.
Press a button, though, and scanning the dashboard becomes old news: a “head up” display appears on the windscreen, with vital driving statistics appearing to float over the bonnet. There’s one particular feature of the M6 that always raises voices in heated discussion, and it’s something that is common to almost all of the modern BMW range: the external design. BMWs have gone through something of a shake-up in the bodywork department. In the trade, people talk of BMWs being “Bangled” – after Chris Bangle, chief of design for the BMW Group. It was Bangle who first broke the mould of BMW’s straight, clean, uncluttered designs, and started putting extra curves, fins and other fancy design shapes. Some hate the new shapes, some love them (enough to keep BMW’s sales rocketing up), but they always start people talking.
Does being “Bangled” work for the M6? I would suggest that the M6 shows the new design philosophy in its very best light. Somehow, it looks absolutely right – even better than in the coupe form. Some four-seat convertibles look clumsy and awkward, but the M6 convertible looks just perfect.The 6-Series is most definitely back with a bang, and the M6 convertible represents the loudest bang of all: a machine full of superlatives, inside and out, from front to back. Yes, it’s true that the BMW showroom is full of a lot of other desirable cars these days, which might have kept you away from the 6-Series. But now, here is the M6; I dare you to ignore it if you can.
BMW M6 CONVERTIBLEEngine: 4,999 cc, V10Power: 378 kWMaximum speed: 250 kph (limited)Performance, 0 to 100 kph: 4.8 secondsCombined fuel economy: 15.2 ltr/100 km SUMMARY: BMW’s new star machine eclipses the opposition.
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