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6 Series Coupe - e63 (2004 - ...) |
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Page 1 of 4 The new BMW 6 Series Coupé
The new BMW 645Ci is a welcome return to the large performance coupé
arena for BMW.
Since the company's first purpose-built coupé - 1937's BMW 327 - BMW
has traditionally excelled at two-door development and the new 6 Series attains
those same historic standards.
It is an uncompromising mix of performance, power, practicality and price clothed
in a stunningly individual design.
The whole package stands out in the market and it's really up to the car's owner
to decide whether the 645Ci performs as a heart-stopping sports car or a thoroughbred
GT - it excels at both.
The car's heady abilities derive from a potent combination of modern lightweight
technologies and BMW's excellence in the production of naturally aspirated V8
power.
Plastics, aluminium and steel combine in a revolutionary process of manufacture
and assembly to reduce and balance weight, and allow the designers' styling
aims to bear fruit. Meanwhile, under the long bonnet lies BMW's 4.4-litre Valvetronic
powerplant, 2002's International Engine of the Year.
The car's impressive aura continues within the cockpit, which displays a highly
specified and stylish interior, supplemented by a host of state-of-the-art technologies
that contribute to making the car the safest, most dynamic and comfortable luxury
coupé on the market.
The BMW 645Ci goes on sale in March 2004 (on-the-road) along with its convertible
sibling.
Virtually all of the 1,700 Coupés available in '04 were pre-ordered in
2003, proving that BMW's new 6 is well placed to become just as historic a model
as the famous 6 Series of the 1980s and its legendary forebears.
And the timing is perfect - the UK market for Specialist Sports Cars has increased
almost three-fold since 1993, whilst the worldwide demand for luxury performance
coupés has increased by fifty per cent over the same period.
Design and construction:
The 6 Coupé is unique, both in BMW's line-up of cars and amongst its
rivals, in having a story to tell from every angle, whether front, side or rear,
top or bottom.
From the front the long, sleek bonnet dominates the view, typical of BMW roadsters
and coupés.
Moving around the car, other traditional features include the twin headlights,
the double kidney grille and the Hofmeister kink on the C-pillar.
However, these traditional BMW design features are clearly placed on a 21st
Century palate as Chris Bangle and his design team continue BMW's forward-thinking
design strategy.
This philosophy, introduced on the 7 Series and continued through the debuts
of the Z4 and 5 Series, ensures that BMW's burgeoning model line-up is instantly
recognisable, not retrogressively familiar.
Hence the 6 is clearly a BMW coupé and not a two-door 5 Series. Form
also follows function as the 6 rests on a bespoke platform, sharing components
with the 5 Series, but not hampered by any platform-sharing compromise.
The stunning design is aided by lightweight technology that offers a new level
in modern production and engineering abilities.
The intelligent use of materials like thermoplastic and Sheet Moulding Compound
(boot, front wings), aluminium (bonnet, doors, chassis components) and steel
allows the designers' most creative forms to make it into production.
Vitally, these design and production methods also reduce weight on a car that
is usefully larger - that is, more practical - than its competitors.
This 'diet' ensures that handling and performance are therefore not compromised
for the benefits of transporting family, luggage, golf bags or ski equipment.
The interior is just as stylish as the exterior.
A luxurious level of trim and standard equipment is bound together visually
by lines and surfaces that enclose the driver and front passenger, allowing
them to focus on the job at hand - driving.
Leather is standard throughout, including the two rear seats that comfortably
accommodate smaller members of the family on trans-continental crossings, or
adults on short sprints.
Along with the new, chunky, leather-clad multi-function sports steering wheel,
hide also covers the gearstick transmitting driver inputs through either the
six speed manual (standard), six speed auto with Steptronic function and Adaptive
Transmission Management or six speed SMG.
Just as the V8 engine and lightweight body are technological tours de force,
BMW's six speed automatic was the world's first such unit when introduced on
the new 7 Series.
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