Imported User:
Like the latest M5, the new M6 ditches the previous model’s high-revving V-10 engine for a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8.
The engine is a gem and it makes a whopping 560 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. As in the M5, it’s backed here by a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, and power is apportioned to each rear wheel by BMW’s torque-vectoring active M differential.
Although it has been confirmed that the new M5 would be available with a manual transmission in North America, BMW isn’t saying yet whether the stick would be offered on the newest M6. That said, the last-gen M6 was available with a manual, and this new car is again being pitched as sportier than the already-ballistic M5. So we figure there’s hope.
BMW claims the M6 coupe reaches 60 mph in about 4.2 seconds and the convertible in 4.3—those figures are likely conservative. For reference, the company projected a 4.4-second 0-to-60 time for the new M5; the über-sedan hit 60 in just 3.7 ticks.
Versus a regular 6-series, the M6 gets a rigidly mounted rear subframe, an M-specific suspension with Dynamic Damper Control active dampers, and uniquely tuned hydraulic-assist steering.
As in the M5, the M-Drive system allows drivers to tailor nearly every performance parameter of the M6, including suspension stiffness, steering effort and feedback, the quickness and severity of the transmission’s shifts, and myriad traction- and stability-control thresholds.
Braking is handled by 15.7-inch front and 15.6-inch rear cast-iron discs squeezed by six-piston calipers. A first for an M-car, the M6 will be available with carbon-ceramic brake rotors as an option.
Measuring an even-larger 16.1 inches up front and an unchanged 15.6 in the rear, the ceramic jobs promise to resist fade better than the standard brakes while also saving more than 40 pounds of unsprung weight.
Outside, the M6 coupe and convertible received the expected M-specific flared fenders, fender vents, and enlarged front intakes. One unexpected touch involves BMW’s signature twin-kidney grille: its slats are split to match the split-spoke wheels, and an M6 badge was added to the left kidney in a nod to the original 1987 M6.
Out back, M-spec quad exhaust outlets jut from beneath a diffuser. Unlike the M5, the M6 coupe’s roof is rendered in carbon fiber. The convertible again utilises a softtop as opposed to a folding hardtop.
