Time to put this puppy through its paces. Oh… wait a sec. I live in Southern Ontario. Sorry. I’ll just have to rumble around, look for the occasional empty on-ramp and otherwise suck back premium fuel while joining the procession of law-abiding Corollas and crossovers.
Okay, I did have the car in Grand Bend, where there are a few stretches of open road – but nary a corner to be found. All that Nürburgring testing is sadly going to waste this week.
    2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe. Click image to enlarge |
The M6 Gran Coupe shares it mechanical bits and wheelbase with the M5 sedan. As such, the 4.4L V8, with its two twin-scroll turbos nestled within the engine’s V, drives the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and trick electronically controlled multi-plate limited slip differential. It develops its peak output of 560 hp from 5,750–7,000 rpm and all 500 lb-ft of torque is on board from 1,500–5,750 rpm.
BMW’s patented Valvetronic fully variable intake valve control system eliminates the need for traditional throttles. Engine power is controlled by the amount of valve lift, and this nifty system saves fuel and sharpens throttle response.
So yes, the 2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe hauls keister in no uncertain terms. Power comes on in a strong, linear rush and the DCT (double clutch transmission) bangs off seamless shifts.
Fuel consumption is preliminarily rated at 15.5 L/100 km city, 9.8 highway and 12.9 combined. After a 250-km highway jaunt where I did my very best to stay under 140 km/h, the computer showed 10.2 L/100 km.
As with the BMW M5, this V8 is strangely muted. Fire up any Mercedes AMG product and you (and anyone within a one-block radius) is well aware of a barrel-chested bent-eight. I just stepped out of a Jag XKR, and its 5.0L supercharged V8 sounds fantastic, too.
At idle, the M6 quietly waffles. At my current place of work the cast of Spamalot were ooohing and aaahing over this silver bullet. Mention 560 hp and there is a revered silence. Mere mortals, especially medieval ones, cannot begin to grasp that number. I so wanted to impress them with an aural sign of this car’s supreme bad-assness. Nope. Blipping the throttle is a non-event.
Under hard acceleration, the M6 certainly sounds unique. No typical V8 howl. It’s kind of a techy mix of a whine and a whoosh. Like the M5, synthetic engine sounds are piped through the audio system.
Which is kinda’ the M6 Gran Coupe in a nutshell. This car is a massively impressive technological tour-de-force – a sleek four-door ‘coupe’ with a seriously split personality. It’s able to coddle and scare the crap out of your passengers in equal measure. But from the driver’s seat, the M is not particularly engaging.
Indeed, there are plenty of buttons for tailoring your driving experience. Available are three settings that alter the speed sensitive hydraulic steering, the electronically controlled dampers, the transmission mapping, throttle mapping and dynamic stability control. Find a couple formulas you like and they can be called up via the M1 and M2 buttons on the steering wheel.
