RE: BMW M6 Gran Coupe - official

RE: BMW M6 Gran Coupe - official

Thursday 13th December 2012

BMW M6 Gran Coupe - official

Want four doors on your M6? Here you go...



For all our huffing and puffing about M now standing for marketing and all that, in the metal there’s little doubt that the new M6 Gran Coupe looks fabulous. We were shown the car last week at a BMW preview event and, brooding under the studio lights, it’s all you could hope for in terms of taking the already-sleek 6 Gran Coupe and turning it into something a little more potent. M for visual muscle, in this case, then.

M kit suits the Gran Coupe's lines
M kit suits the Gran Coupe's lines
The muscle is not just skin deep of course. Mechanically the M6 Gran Coupe is, as you’d expect, the real deal, with the twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 packing 560hp and 502lb ft from just 1,500rpm. You’d have been waiting for 6,000rpm on the dial before the old V10 gave its all, a sign of how things have changed at M in terms of mechanical character.

It’s also amazing to now consider that the M6 is a three-car family too, the Gran Coupe joining the Coupe and Convertible versions, and begging the question: who’s going to choose an M5 over this? Certainly if you were standing between the two in the BMW showroom mulling it over it’d be hard to avert your gaze from the 6. Looking more closely at the bottom line might have you turning back to the 5, though; the fact the M6 Coupe costs nearly £20K more than the M5 suggests a similar premium for the Gran Coupe, at a minimum. Suffice to say, don’t expect much change from £100K after even the most tentative exploration of the options list. Before you get there, standard kit includes 20-inch wheels, leather, M head-up display and various other delights, cost upgrades including heated rear seats, soft-close doors, ceramic brakes and much, much more.

Would you have one over an M5?
Would you have one over an M5?
For context a 500hp Panamera Turbo starts at £104,758 (the 550hp Turbo S from £123,776), a CLS63 AMG with 525hp looks a relative bargain at £81,170 and Aston Martin will charge you at least £149,995 to get into a Rapide.

What else do you need to know? Well, driving through the same seven-speed M Double Clutch gearbox as the other hot 5s and 6s, it’ll hit 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds which is the same as the regular M6 Coupe and a couple of tenths faster than the M5. Normally it tops out at a regulated 155mph but you can raise this to 189mph with the optional M Driver’s package. Taking the rose tints off the new-school 28.5mpg and 232g/km are difficult to argue with too.

Will they be offering it in a manual for the Americans though? A polite but non-committal smile was the best anyone would give us…







Author
Discussion

folos

Original Poster:

900 posts

141 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
M5 - a poor man's 4 door M6 smile

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Nice looking thing for a big modern saloon car, although I'm not keen on the way the boot is integrated into the side profile and the bonnet looks a bit bulbous.

Guvernator

13,104 posts

164 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
I think I've just found my next car.....in 3 years time when good old depreciation has done it's job of course wink

GroundEffect

13,819 posts

155 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Looks great...but it's over 2 tonnes.

Seriously?

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
GroundEffect said:
Looks great...but it's over 2 tonnes.

Seriously?
It's a huge luxury saloon car not a sports car. Is there really any reason for it to be lighter?

Chrisw666

22,655 posts

198 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
A 4 door version, of a 2 door coupe, itself based on a 4 door saloon.

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Very very nice. Interior looks great, loving a return to the driver orientated design.

Still think the grill M6 badge looks like an afterthought.

Prawnboy

1,326 posts

146 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Chrisw666 said:
A 4 door version, of a 2 door coupe, itself based on a 4 door saloon.
lol
4 door 4 series next

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Prawnboy said:
4 door 4 series next
Pretty sure it'll happen, although it might be a five-door rather than a four-door.

stuart-b

3,643 posts

225 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
With some upgrades, over 800+ bhp ?

biggrin

BlueMR2

8,642 posts

201 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
BMW's models really seem to be taking a hard hit from the high numbers they sell.

I note they seem to have dropped the ultimate driving machine tag they used to use on advertising, all they need to do now is go FWD, then they can join up with AUDI to save even more on costs.

GranCab

2,902 posts

145 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
The new Quattroporte will blow this Grann'y Coupe away in terms of class, style and performance

Guvernator

13,104 posts

164 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
GranCab said:
The new Quattroporte will blow this Grann'y Coupe away in terms of class, style and performance
Was never a massive fan of the last Quattroporte, the looks didn't quite work for me were as I though the coupe was one of the most gorgeous cars made in recent years, hopefully the new Quattroporte will fix that.

Conversely on the M6 it's actually the opposite, I think I prefer the looks of the 4 door to the coupe.

kambites

67,461 posts

220 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
GranCab said:
The new Quattroporte will blow this Grann'y Coupe away in terms of class, style and performance
I can't see it "blowing it away" in terms of performance.

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
GranCab said:
The new Quattroporte will blow this Grann'y Coupe away in terms of class, style and performance
That I'm not sure about.

GroundEffect

13,819 posts

155 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
kambites said:
GroundEffect said:
Looks great...but it's over 2 tonnes.

Seriously?
It's a huge luxury saloon car not a sports car. Is there really any reason for it to be lighter?
Yes, it's trying to be performance. I wouldn't want a car like that over 2 tonnes. The M5 is already ridiculous at 1990kg.

SPORTSTER

160 posts

168 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Its just become a fast 7 series now than a M6

SmartVenom

462 posts

168 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
Prawnboy said:
lol
4 door 4 series next
It's all confusing me! I thought the even number range was to be the 3 door version of the range below it. Now they are morphing in to their own range.

TangerinePool

1,385 posts

189 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
I love this so much - Euro Millions = one of these and a B7

Glosphil

4,337 posts

233 months

Thursday 13th December 2012
quotequote all
GroundEffect said:
kambites said:
GroundEffect said:
Looks great...but it's over 2 tonnes.

Seriously?
It's a huge luxury saloon car not a sports car. Is there really any reason for it to be lighter?
Yes, it's trying to be performance. I wouldn't want a car like that over 2 tonnes. The M5 is already ridiculous at 1990kg.
Oh, no. 10kg heavier. Better not take a passenger, just think of the diffrence that would make.