| Chris Bangle has many enemies, all you have to do
is to carry out an internet search and you can smell the smoke out there.
On the other hand this comes with the territory. After all BMW's controversial
chief designer has redefined the shape of a long established and much
loved brand. You either love or hate the new design language, but the
most notable difference to the pre-Bangle brand is that you cannot ignore
it. Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks went out to see if the new 6 Series lives
up to this promise.
The 6 Series continues BMW's history of making coupes that goes back to 1937 |
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After more than decade, BMW has re-launched the 6 Series as an extension
and re-affirmation of the styling first carried out on the 7, then on
the Z4 and the 5 Series. The 645 Ci luxury performance coupé has
been designed to stand out and question the conventionality of cars in
its segment. It also tells a story from all angles. Strongest of all is
the front-view, where like most new BMWs the long, sleek bonnet and the
distinctive front headlights dominate the view. The car appears sleeker
and slimmer than its bulk with a clever use of horizontal lines that run
from front to rear wheel arches playing games with light and shade. The
ultra sleek side windows also help stretch the vehicle -- visually that
is.
As with the exterior, inside is also a modern interpretation of the luxury
car. Driver and front passenger will feel enveloped with the use of strong
lines that run from the shoulder line is the driver's seat window, right
along the length of the base of the front window to the passenger side.
As expected there is an array of goodies to be found including Active
Cruise Control, a second-generation and much improved in-house iDrive
system as well as an abundance of leather, chrome and high quality plastics.
The interior is a modern interpretation of a luxury car |
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The car is powered by BMW's V8 4.4 litre petrol engine featuring Valvetronic
valve control, bi-vanos variable valve timing and fully variable intake
manifold length adjustment the flexible eight cylinder unit. Maximum output
on the 645 Ci is 333bhp at 6,100 rpm and torque levels go as high as 450Nm
at 3,600 rpm. Fuel consumption on the combined cycle is 25.9 mpg and fuel
tank capacity is 70 litres allowing up to 670 miles between fill-ups.
Speed wise 62 mph is reached at 5.6 seconds in manual and 50 to 75 mph
(in fourth) is reached in just 5.1 seconds.
Weight is kept to a minimum with the use of lightweight materials such
as an all aluminium chassis. The goal of 50:50 weight distribution is
assisted by a platform that is both lightweight and flexible, whilst aluminium
suspension and axle parts exploit the benefits of hydraulic rack-and-pinion
Servotronic steering, optional Dynamic Drive suspension control and optional
Active Steering.
BMW's Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) is a key active safety feature that
allows for a smooth passage over less than perfect surfaces. For the enthusiast,
Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) can be activated and DSC switched off completely.
Meanwhile on the passive side there are six airbags to protect both front
and rear passengers. The front airbags are 'intelligent' -- meaning they
only deploy if the seats are occupied under impact -- and all bags are
linked, but work independently. This results in a focused and instantly
reactive passive protection system that is unbeatable in its life-saving
abilities.
BMW has been making coupé's almost as long as its been making cars.
The 645 Ci's history can be traced as far back as the 327, BMW's first
purpose-built coupé of 1937, but it's main ancestor is perhaps
the CS series that ran from 1965 and the original 6 Series of 1976.
The new 645 Ci marks the return of the German premium carmaker to the
large performance coupé sector, and as BMW points out its timing
couldn't be better. The demand for such cars has increased by as much
as 50% since 1993 and the customer can's get enough. You just wonder what
took the carmaker's board of directors so long to make the decision to
return.
So who will buy this product? BMW says it is a car without any direct
competitors, although it does cost a little less than a Mercedes CL500
or a Porsche 911 Carrera and BMW claims has more power with equal luggage
space. These are however desirable cars and the BMW one is a little unusual
and perhaps not to everyone's taste.
What the car does best is to allow for market expansion into new segments
forming part of BMW's premium strategy that will include a brand new 1
and 2 Series coming out in late 2004 and 2005 respectively.
Sometimes it is hard to fault a perfect product. This is both a sports
car and a thoroughbred GT. It is stylish to look out, pleasant to drive,
but most importantly it will certainly make a statement about the driver.
However, it is undeniably not to everyone's liking. The question is, is
the big coupé market brave enough for the 645 Ci?
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