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By
EWAN KENNEDY
24 December 2007
Arguably the most exclusive BMW of them all, the big 6 Series
is sold in coupe and convertible format. It has just received a facelift
and mechanical working over to ready itself for the 2008 season.
Appearance changes are quite marked and aimed at
giving the sporty machine a more purposeful look, particularly
when it’s in motion. The 6 is one of the later cars to be
designed by the controversial Chris Bangle and works exceptionally
well to our eyes. Though it has the split bootlid that we don’t
like in some other Beemers, that in the 6 Series does work nicely.
It has been a subject of the facelift and now carries a built-in
spoiler that houses the ‘third’ brake light.
At the front, the kidney grilles remain the same,
but the air intake in the bumper centre has a greater volume and
it’s shape now follows the diagonals of the bonnet and headlight
area.
Overall, the revised styling gives the body of the
big 6 Series BMW a wider, lower look. New colours have been added
to the pallete to aid this look, call into your local dealer for
details.
Inside, there are new materials in different hues,
but the overall styling is as before. A good thing, as the big 6
is one of our favourite cars. BMW has quietly toned down the
controversial iDrive system and now provides the ‘favourites’
buttons as seen in other recently revised models. These give the
driver the ability to get to their desired areas with less of a
hassle. But the iDrive is still not the simplest system around…
Interestingly, the biggest mechanical changes are
to the automatic transmission. Often the forgotten component
amongst car enthusiasts – who prefer to talk engines, suspension
and steering ahead of transmissions, automatics have come a long
way in the last few years. The all-new six-speed unit installed in
the 6 Series is a real beauty, with ultra-fast shifts and an
intelligence that sees it in the right gear for virtually all
situations. And that includes downshifts for optimal hill
descents, these are notoriously tricky things to program and the
BMW guys have them just right.
Should you not agree with the transmission’s
decisions there are manual overrides by way of a tiptronic-type
system. Not sure if we like the paddle shifts, though, they seem
over complex and the styling seems aimed more at elegance than
technical prowess. Thankfully, BMW has retained a sequential
function at the floor lever.
Note that there is no manual gearbox option in
Australian imports of the 6 Series.
The 270 kilowatt V8 4.8-litre (not 5.0 as the car’s
name suggests) engine is largely unchanged, though there have been
some mods to the electronic control unit to fatten out the torque
curve. The latter has a peak of 490 Nm at 3200 rpm, impressive
figures and the car feels beautifully lively on the road.
It may be our imagination but the engine sounds
even better than before. Full bore acceleration is accompanied by
a big road and that wonderful beat that’s only on offer in good
V8 engines is sure to delight all driving enthusiasts.
Prices are up marginally on the outgoing 6 Series,
but the product planner assures us that raised equipment levels on
the new car more than offset the higher RRP. The 650 Ci coupe has
a tag of $212,000; the convertible is priced at $228,000. The
high-performance M6 V10, which we have not driven at this stage,
costs $279,400 in closed format and $299,000 as a convertible.
As is the way with BMW there are numerous extras
on offer. These include audio systems with up to 16 speakers,
19-inch alloy wheels in place of the standard 18 inchers, and a
night vision system for improved safety.
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Marque Publishing Company
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