Tuesday 11th December 2012

Spotted: BMW M6

What was that we were saying yesterday about browsing for old M cars? Harris has been doing just that

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"It's pretty outrageous, isn't it?" was all I could say to the silent chap sitting in the passenger seat after pinning the new M6 in third gear. All he could do was nod. The new M6 is a seriously fast car. But it also costs about one-billionty-thousand pounds which, even in light of its mix of space and speed, is rather a lot of cash. Naturally, my thoughts turned to older M6s.

New M cars too refined and sensible?

The last M6 (E63) was a monster - in some ways even more monstrous than the new car because you had to rev the janglies off that V10 to shake off the suspicion that a 530d was just as fast in normal driving conditions. Which, incidentally, it was.

But it didn't come close if you used that V10. In fact not much did. My favourite M6 anecdote came from a friend whose opinion on fast cars is always worth listening to. He was running an M6 back when they were fairly new, but he was also a member of the P1 club. He used their Ferrari 599 for a weekend and told me he liked it, but was a little disappointed by the straight-line performance. The M6 wasn't much slower - he wasn't wrong.

We will look back on the V10 M cars with a mixture of wonder and shock: a pure racing engine shovelled into a production BMW body, in this case the controversial Bangle 6 Series. Flay me alive and call me a mentalist, but the M6 looks ace to these eyes. Not pretty, but tough and interesting.

Purchase price should offset fuel costs

There's loads to go wrong, the gearbox is average at best, they aren't much use on a track and the brakes were clearly designed to retard a Mini Metro, but this is one exciting, scary fast machine.

Just don't ask about the fuel bills.

I think they look best in blue, but could only find a nice low-miler in silver.

 

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BMW M6
Engine: 4,999cc V10
Transmission: 7-speed SMG automated manual
Power (hp): 507@7,750rpm
Torque (lb ft): 383@6,100rpm
MPG: 19.7mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 342g/km
First registered: March 2006
Recorded mileage: 32,000
Price new: £81,760
Yours for: £23,995

See the original advert here.

[Dazed & Confused]

I'm with you - I actually think the Bangle designed cars look really good (especially the 5 series). Not pretty, but much more visually engaging than the current crop.

(Although he wasn't as hampered by the now mandatory high bonnets that make all cars look like )