FIRST DRIVE REVIEW
With the 6-series, BMW has a clear winner on its hands. The beautiful coupe, based on the 5-series sedan, has exceeded expectations—despite highly ambitious pricing that positions it close to the range-topping 7-series. Even though the four-door Gran Coupe, a direct competitor of the Audi A7 and the Mercedes-Benz CLS, has become the most popular 6-series model, BMW had us drive the traditional two-door coupe at the international launch in Lisbon, Portugal.
Tiny Tweaks

It takes a true BMW aficionado to spot the changes with this midterm facelift. Most prominently, the lower front air intake is restyled, and BMW has also changed the front kidney grille (nine blades instead of ten!). The look is intended to be sportier, we’re told, as some customers apparently thought the previous model looked too tame. For those who want more, there’s still an M Sport package, which has been altered, as well. Adaptive LED headlights are now standard, and their inner workings are redesigned. The side indicator lights move from the front fenders to the mirrors. A new Black Accent package replaces much of the exterior chrome with black trim.

Inside, the 6-series sports plenty of gloss-black trim and brushed-metal accents. Buyers can choose Dakota or Nappa leather, and two-tone color schemes are available. The telematics system, of course, is further improved and one of the best we have experienced. The rear seats can hardly be considered a desirable place to be for adults, due to the difficult access and limited head- and legroom. But the front seats are excellent, supportive, and comfortable. The controls are well laid out—with the exception of the infuriating gear selector, which requires way too much practice to be called intuitive. (Our favorite fix for this problem, the manual transmission, is not available on the 640i or the 650i but is still an option on the M6.)
At least the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic is one of the best units on the market. It shifts rapidly and unobtrusively, always finding the right gear to match the driver's expectations. As much as we dislike the gear selector, we praise BMW for its correct, race-car-like operation in the manual gate: You pull to upshift, the intuitive movement when you are pinned into your seat by hard acceleration, and push forward to downshift, which you typically do while braking, when your body is traveling forward, as well.

Riding a Wave of Torque

While the base 640i retains its 315-hp twin-turbo straight six, we spent our time in the 650i, with its 4.4-liter V-8, also sporting two turbos. With its 445 horsepower, the 650i charges to 60 mph in a mere four-and-a-half seconds and on to 155 mph. Whether on two-lanes or on the freeway, the 650i is an utterly enthralling car to drive. It rides on a massive wave of torque, it accelerates with unusual urgency, and it emits a distant rumble worthy of a true sports car. The growl is underscored by the sports exhaust system that is now standard equipment. This engine is the basis of the 4.4-liter V-8 that powers the M6, and it shows.
The chassis is supremely capable, with great directional stability and the eagerness that you’d expect from a sporty coupe—but not necessarily from such a heavy vehicle. It’s unfortunate that the electromechanical power steering still lacks road feel, and we also find it artificially heavy in all of its settings. The optional all-wheel-drive system gets you a hydraulic steering setup, but it also adds still more weight to an already heavy car.
Its shortcomings are few and far between, and the BMW 6-series remains one of the best luxury-performance cars on the market—and certainly one of the most beautiful. We wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who can afford it. (Big $'s, but it's on my Lotto Winning Dream List)
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