Yorkregion.com - Leisure - BMW’s M6 Cab combines good road manners with supercar performance
BMW’s M6 Cab combines good road manners with supercar performance
By: Jim Robinson
2007 BMW M6 Cabriolet
It's all about the 'M' button on the 2007 BMW M6 Cabriolet. Sitting innocently on the right spoke of the steering wheel, a touch instantly raises power from the 'normal' 400 hp to 500 hp, but there's a lot more to it than that.
The M Drive Manager (as it is properly called) not only changes the engine mapping but also controls the damper settings, ride quality and much more, making it possible for the driver to select (from hundreds of variables) the perfect handling and power setting to individually match driving style.
It brings into play the Electronic Damper Control (Normal, Comfort and Sport), three DSC+ traction control settings and three specific engine control maps, plus the response rate of the Servotronic power steering that can be controlled by the M button.
Once the desired settings are created by using the iDrive menu, one push of the M Drive button transforms the M6 from a nice grocery getter into supercar humbler.
When you press the button there is an immediate change in temperament you can feel. The raspy exhaust of the V10 drops two or three octaves and there is a thump of the added power coming on stream that you feel in the seat of your pants. The steering response also changes to a more weighed feel.
The heads-up-display (HUD) normally just shows speed and the cruise control setting. When activated, the M button projects a semi-circular tachometer coloured from green to orange and then red at the redline. It saves the driver from taking snap looks at the regular tach so he/she can concentrate on the road ahead.
The M6 Cabriolet represents a number of firsts for BMW. It is BMW's fastest convertible ever. It is also the first soft-top model in a long line of M6 vehicles. And its 40-valve V10 engine was picked by a worldwide judging panel as the International Engine of the Year in 2006 for the second year in a row, a landmark in the history of the awards.
The M6 Cabriolet uses BMW's 4,999cc V10 powerplant developing 500 hp and 383 lb/ft of torque to power the car from 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds before going on to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph. Unlimited, the car could continue to a top speed approaching 200 mph.
Drive is via either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) with Drivelogic that BMW says is the world's first such transmission. It has already been used in the BMW M5 and the M6 Coupe.
The Drivelogic function offers the driver a choice of 11 different gear change options with five in auto mode and six in manual mode with each offering a different speed of gear shift.
The six-speed manual, as tested, is positive and spring-loaded to make the shifter go where you want. While it's not heavy, there is a sensation that the gears at the other end of the linkage are big and thick to handle the kind of power the M6 produces.
BMW's Variable M Differential and the M-specific version of the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system provide the highest levels of traction and the ultimate dynamic capability. The Variable M Differential permits up to 100 per cent of drive forces to be fed to one rear wheel to optimize traction, while the DSC system, in its optimum M Dynamic Mode, permits a greater degree of wheel slip for even higher levels of performance.
The triple layered hood is shaped to the near identical lines of the coupe. The trunk and top were designed to give 300 litres of cargo room with the top down and 350 litres when up.
New technologies giving lighter weight abound in the M6 Cabriolet like front fenders made of Thermoplastic that weigh less than aluminum but are flexible enough to absorb small bumps like parking lot dings. Front and rear bumpers are made from carbon fibre and the rear deck and soft-top cover are made from Sheet Moulding Compound, another flexible lightweight material.
Extensive use of aluminum allows the M6 Cabriolet to have a 50:50 weight ratio.
Large vented and drilled high performance brakes deliver excellent stopping power. The front discs measure 374mm in diameter while the rears are 370mm.
With a 'base' price of $138,300, my tester included just about everything BMW can build into the M6 including stunning reddish Merino leather for an as tested price of $142,800.
Fuel numbers for the M6 manual are 20.3L/100 km city and 11.7L/100 km highway while the seven-speed SMG is 18.0L/100 km city, 10.8L/100 km highway. During my week with the car with mostly highway driving the first half and city the second, I started out at 16.4L/100 km and ended at 16.6L/100 km or about what the combined should be in real life.
The M6 is big but sleek like a hunter/killer submarine. The level of adhesion was astounding. Credit much of this to the myriad of ride and handling programs that come with an M6, but you have to experience it in real life to understand.
With all the power at the rear wheels, you expect the M6 to understeer, i.e., want to keep going straight when you want to turn in, but this is not the case. Steering inputs and feedback are superb, making me wonder how BMW engineers are able to do that what with all the power steering pumps, servos and computers between the driver's fingertips and the road.
As you might expect, the M6 Cabriolet is supremely happy on the highway. Driving my daughter back to university on the Thanksgiving Monday was done in sixth gear on cruise with the big V10 barely ticking over. With radar police all over the place, it was prudent to stick to the centre lane and kick back.
Later, on an open and challenging stretch of backcountry highway, the M6 went exactly where I pointed it regardless of speed. Each time I came through a tight corner, I could hit the gas and the reserves of torque got me quickly through and out the other side without having to change down a gear.
Where this really pays off is on busy super highways. When some fool drops the can, the M6 has the go and stopping power to avoid calamity. My contention remains a powerful car in the right hands doesn't get you into trouble; it gets you out of trouble.
Despite its capricious looks and gentle demeanor in normal driving, the M6 Cabriolet is above all purposeful, maybe a touch sinister.
But that has always been the way with M Power Bimmers and why people justifiably call them the Ultimate Driving Machine.
BMW M6 CABRIOLET 2007 AT A GLANCE
BODY STYLE: Premium luxury four-seat Cabriolet.
DRIVE METHOD: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive.
ENGINE: 5.0-litre, 40-valve V10 (500 hp 383 lb/ft)
FUEL ECONOMY: Six-speed manual as tested, 20.3L/100 km city, 11.7L/100 km city; seven-speed SMG automatic, 18.0L/100 km city, 10.8L/100 km highway.
PRICE: $138,300, as tested, $142,800.
WEBSITE: bmw.ca