 2013 BMW M6 Coupé. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Michel Deslauriers
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2013 BMW M6 Coupé
Sure, go ahead and compare it to an Audi R8. Or a Porsche 911 Turbo. Or even an Aston Martin V8 Vantage if you want. No problem.
The 2013 BMW M6 can take them on, especially in the horsepower wars. This German missile feels just as right at wide-open throttle as puttering around about town. True, it may not feel as pure and elemental as a 911, and may not polarize onlookers as quickly as an R8 or a Vantage, but as a high-end GT coupe, the M6 is as confident as they come.
Oh, not that the M6 didn’t get its share of attention, especially dripping in metallic orange paint, and especially in the midst of yet another sloppy Canadian winter. Because, you know, despite its rear-wheel drivetrain, its low ground clearance and its prodigious output, you don’t have to put it away for winter if you don’t want to. You just have to know what your self-control threshold is, and away you go.
  2013 BMW M6 Coupé. Click image to enlarge |
It’s somewhat ironic that an automobile manufacturer promotes environmental friendliness and sustainability with the imminent launch of its BMW i division, and yet has no trouble whatsoever cranking out some of the most powerful production cars on earth.
With 560 horsepower on tap, the 2013 BMW M6 Coupé outmuscles just about every high-end coupe without a prancing horse, a raging bull or a ZR1 badge on it, including the R8 V10 (525 hp), the 911 Turbo S (530 hp), the V8 Vantage S (430 hp) and the Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG (550 hp). Regarding the latter competitor, it’s marketed as a coupe but has four doors, which sounds confusing; no matter, as BMW has the M6 Gran Coupé, which also has four doors, so the body style arguments are now settled.
The M6 also boasts a run-flat-tire-melting 500 lb-ft of torque that peaks from 1,500 to 5,750 rpm, which means pretty much all the time your right foot is touching to go-pedal. The twin-turbocharged and intercooled 4.4-litre V8 is a marvellous engine, with a deep throaty burble that isn’t too extroverted when you want to slip by the local constabulary force without triggering a double-take. Yeah, right.
Pedal to the metal, with the seven-speed double-clutch gearbox banging off upshifts and the exhaust belching at every gear swap, this M6 Coupé can hit 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds according to BMW; I recorded a 4.4-second 0-100 km/h time aboard an M6 Cabriolet last summer, so the manufacturer’s number seems credible.
As for fuel economy, you probably don’t care, but know that my average of 13.0 L/100 km over the course of the test week was obtained with a great deal of restraint. Oh, the automatic start/stop system helped a little, too, as did the seven-speed tranny, which spins the engine at 1,500 rpm while driving at a steady 100 km/h. The price of premium unleaded may not be a concern for the buyer of a $125K M6, but it’s nice to know that you won’t be required to stop every 300 km for a fill-up.
