It's been said that to really appreciate the lines of a beautiful car you have to wash it yourself, but I generally prefer watching somebody else do it.
PH M6 has classic coupe proportions
A chap at the Hand Car Wash in Newark was positively disconsolate that he'd never be able to afford a BMW M6 when I dropped in with the PH car a few days ago, which made me a) rethink my presumption that hand car washes are an easy route to a small fortune and b) wonder if it would have been appropriate to confess the M6 wasn't really mine...
Instead, I mumbled something enigmatic and sat down under the generously provided gazebo to watch the grubby BMW being lathered-up, and then emerge gleaming once again from behind a flurry of expertly-wielded chamois leathers.
The 6 Series does look fabulous in M-spec (especially with the Competition Pack bonnet styling tweaks), which to my mind lifts an otherwise bland coupe shape to the realms of automotive pornography.
Rear view is powerful and aggressive
Low to the ground, hunkered down over fat Pirelli rubber, and with powerful haunches accentuated by a boot-lip flick, sill extensions and whizzy-looking aero-bits moulded into the bumpers, for me it's the perfect modern evocation of the classic, front-engined, rear drive, saloon-derived coupe. (The one's that car enthusiasts used to dribble over, like Aston Martin V8s and Ford Capris, and which nobody seems to bother much with any more.)
But you know what? Anachronistic in style it may be, but there's not much to touch our M6 on the average dual carriageway or motorway where we spend most of our time. It's crushingly fast, beautifully controlled and er... well, astonishingly practical for a car that (away from the track at least) has the handling and performance to keep some pretty exotic supercars honest.
The M6 as seen by lesser cars...
It's practical, not just for its spacious cabin with room for four adults and enormous boot (both of which came as something of a revelation), but also because it doesn't attract the 'wrong type' of attention. Although it has an undeniably purposeful air, there's enough of the mainstream BMW about the styling for the car to swim generally incognito in the car pool. I've asked a few non-car people what they thought the M6 cost, and most of those prepared to take a stab at it guessed £40-60k, which is quite a long way off the £90k-plus figure on our car's delivery note.
The M6 does 'inconspicuous' well
This reaction is a good thing in many respects, because in contrast to more extrovert 'supercars' it means you don't get harassed by idiots, can park pretty much where you like without worrying about vandals and (for those of you with 'proper' jobs), you can take it to meetings without looking like a show-off. It also means the people you meet who do get excited by the M6 tend to be enthusiasts who know what they're looking at - and therefore probably worth passing the time of day with over the petrol pumps.
But in spite of its revvy V10 engine, 500bhp and 380lb ft, a 4.6sec 0-62mph time, and a claimed 205mph maximum speed (at least when the 155mph limiter is removed) it's not really a supercar, is it? Well no, and while the tech-spec, performance and price meant I did feel totally justified in driving our M6 in the convoy to Wilton House as part of the recent Supercar day, I knew it wouldn't wow the crowds like the more exotic machinery during the display itself.
PH cars keep good company!
Still, having chopped and changed between Garlick's 911 GT3, RacingPete's Aston DBS, Rigger's Gallardo Superleggera for some amazing driving on the day (and fully aware I'm about to say something potentially sacrilegious...) it wouldn't have felt at all like getting the short straw to have taken the M6 home at the end of it all. In fact, I probably would have chosen to, had I not got the chance to nick the keys to Stuart's blagged AMG Gullwing instead...
Running notes: With 7900 miles on the odometer, the electronic dipstick demanded a litre of fresh fully synthetic oil, which I duly coughed up £17 for at the BMW dealer in Brighton. Having just paid £12 for a new watch battery for the wife's Saab remote (at a Saab main dealer, stupidly), it didn't seem like too much of an extravagance - and amusingly the oil came with a diddy cardboard funnel and a tissue to mop up any spillage.
Dashboard service reminders
According to the digital dashboard, a service is due in another 9000 miles, while the front and rear brakes are good for another 16,000 and 20,000 miles respectively - in spite of having been hammered by Greg Mansell around Silverstone.
Stay tuned for more driving impressions soon, and at some point we're going to have to talk about depreciation...