BMW M6 Competition Pack: Driven (briefly)
Does a 'Competition Pack' make any sense on a two-tonne coupe? Harris has three laps to find out...
We also had to follow a BMW driver on the track, but luckily this was Max who I've skidded with in Sweden before, and he's commendably disrespectful to anything round and rubbery. So, he set off like a loony and I tried to work out if the M6 Competition Pack felt any different from standard.
Brief and to the point
It did. It's flatter (spring rates, dampers and roll bars) grippier, more agile and the extra 15hp brings added urgency above 5,000rpm. See the official press info here for graph-based evidence. This makes a car which can leave you a touch breathless in standard tune feel crazy fast.
I spent half of the first lap soaking up this information, but then Max pulled a large drift and I sort of did the same, and then I spent the next two laps behaving, depending on your outlook, like a man who didn't really understand why we were doing this, or a man told to do an entire lap sideways.
The tailpipes are now stealth graphite, the steering wheel is a bit different, the M5 rides 10mm lower, the M6 doesn't and the ceramic brakes remain a £7,395 option. I suspect the best compromise for UK use would be the standard suspension and the power upgrade.
Here's a video of a nice chap called Graeme following me around Estoril. As well as being an occasional PH scribbler he's rather a handy driver.
BMW M6 COUPE
Engine: 4,395cc V8, twin-turbo, direct-injection
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto (M DCT), rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 575@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 501@1,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.1 sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,925kg (EU, unladen)
MPG: 28.5mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 232g/km
Price: £100,680 (£94,180 for standard M6, Competition Pack £6,500)
I strikes me that once-upon-not-such-a-long-time-ago, everything in BMWs (car) range had a point and a reason.
You had saloon (3 sizes), mini-estate (really a hatch at best - 2 sizes), coupe (2 sizes) and a small cabrio for hairdressers - there were proper M variants for some and semi-M variants of others and a huge and complex options list to customize those to your needs.
Now - well massive chunks of it's bewildering and ever overlapping range are just utterly pointless but within it there are still gems.
I feel sorry for BMW salesmen sometimes - they once had a simple system of "how much legroom, what kind of storage, how much handling do you want?" but now it must be like helping someone choose 1 banana from a banana boat...
If my last visit to one is anything to go by tho, they're still pretty ambivalent towards it. A customer expressed an interest in a 3 Series Coupe but said "I'd like this - it's perfect except that it's white" the salesman's reply boggled my mind
"What's wrong with White - it's very popular and this car is available right now"
erm...
Staggering discounts available, which make it very attractive IMO.
Not sure of the point of the competition pack, however.
I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder etc...
I think with all these new models and options, the range is becoming fudged and ill defined.
I thought I would miss the M6, but I really dont and the 640d never feels lacking in the slightest with regard to moving along nicely. Ok it doesnt sound quite as good, but it picks up as quick (if not quicker if you arent in the right M mode etc in the old car).
Having said that, an M6 at 50k with a handful of miles on is a much better proposition.
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