More than any other type of body design the convertible offers all the ideals of freedom, joy of life, and thrilling technical features. This applies particularly to the new BMW 6 Series Convertible blending all the virtues and the heritage of other open-air two- and four-seater BMWs with the attributes of BMW's highly advanced luxury performance models in the market today: dynamic performance, superior comfort, aesthetic design, and sheer exclusivity.

An individual car for the individual customer

Like driving in the open air, driving a coupé is the expression of an individual - but very different - lifestyle. And precisely with this in mind, BMW has created a very different and convincing version of the new 6 Series full of character for the aficionado of both coupé and convertible motoring. Indeed, any other alternative would have been a - poor - compromise: a convertible with a collapsing roof, a coupé for driving in the open air.

A closer look at such a compromise clearly reveals its drawbacks: A collapsing hard roof takes up a lot of space in the luggage compartment and adds extra weight detracting from the car's dynamic driving pleasure.

Precisely this is why BMW has opted in favor of a more sophisticated solution for the 6 Series Convertible, even though the concept chosen was more expensive in development and is more demanding in production. At the same time the high standard of BMW innovation and exemplary quality so typical of the brand ensure that both the Coupé and the Convertible give the customer unrestricted driving pleasure, supreme comfort, beautiful design, maximum safety, and all-round everyday driving qualities.

Exterior design: emotional from every angle

The 6 Series Convertible is full of presence, striking appeal and interesting highlights from every angle. The curved surfaces are a clear symbol of power and arouse emotions. The strong character lines flow softly along the car, without a strict beginning and a fixed end. Harmoniously, they join the front, side and rear to form an entity reminiscent of a living sculpture.

Like only a few other convertibles, the 6 Series Convertible is a perfect blend of all shapes and dimensions. The car's design language is consistent, taking up and reflecting the principles of sculptural design re-interpreted in a very special, unique manner. With the roof open or closed, the design of the 6 Series Convertible reflects the look of a timeless, three-dimensional sculpture which, regardless of light, location and line of vision, powerfully attracts the attention and emotion of the beholder.

From the front: sharp eagle eyes with a truly fascinating look

The dual headlights with strongly curved contours at the bottom give the very low and wide Convertible a very powerful look full of presence from the front. Indeed, this look may certainly be compared with the eyes of an eagle in a double sense of the word, the Convertible's bi-xenon headlights featured as standard truly being very "sharp" thanks to Adaptive Headlight technology available as an option.

Dimensions:

• Width: 1855 millimeters or 73.0 inches
• Height: 1373 millimeters or 54.1 inches
• Length: 4820 millimeters or 189.8 inches

Parking light rings on the high and low beams present the clear message that this car is a luxury performance BMW, the headlights themselves almost being reminiscent of pupils. The direction indicators extending across the headlights like a narrow horizontal strip merge down almost like an "eyeliner" to the muscular, curved wheel arches, enhancing the impression of a powerful automotive "face".
Two flowing lines serve to stretch out the look of the body, extending to the rear from the extra-wide double kidney grille and, respectively, from the headlights themselves. The upper line swings back along a dynamic curve as a wide "V" from the double kidney down the long engine compartment lid and into the almost delicate A-pillars. Moving down almost dramatically at the sides, this line clearly contours the powerdome on the engine compartment lid to create a particularly muscular impression. The lower line, in turn, starts from the inner "eye corners" of the headlights and first runs parallel to the upper line along the engine compartment lid, then continuing along the sides as the shoulder line.

Reaching the rear of the car, this distinctive line once again takes on its V-shape, ending in a gentle slope around the diffuser lip. The visual impression is a beautiful blend of the front lid and side panels, giving the Convertible a very powerful and determined look from the front.

The athletic qualities of the 645Ci Convertible are symbolized by the front spoiler with its wide air intake between the foglamps at the left and right. And the sporting qualities of the car are borne out last but not least by a drag coefficient of 0.31 - a truly unique figure in the 2+2-seater convertible market.

From the side: unique and beautiful all in one

Closely related to the 6 Series Coupé, the new Convertible is a truly unique car to behold. Measuring 4820 millimeters or 189.8" in length, the silhouette flows from front to rear in beautiful organic lines initially rising up steeply at the front and then extending smoothly and gently along the engine compartment lid in a slightly upward curve followed by the dynamically designed A-pillar moved slightly back to the rear.

Benefiting from the wide "C-pillar" formed by the fin roof, the Convertible is both sporting and elegant to behold with the softtop closed. Extending as a transparent opening from front to rear, the fully retractable side windows without any frame sections or visible edges create a feeling of lightness almost hovering in the air. And at the same time this design feature gives the 6 Series Convertible a unique touch.

The side-line flows gently from the roof to the rear section, ending in a short and "sluggy" spoiler integrated in the rear lid. This design feature accentuates the sculptural form of the rear end and enhances the special look of the tail lights extending far round into the side of the car and merging at the top into the V-shaped shoulder line extending down in a gentle curve.

The convex character line stretches out beneath the door handle from the muscular curvature of the front all the way to the rear wheel arch, harmoniously defining the side view of the car as two horizontal surfaces creating the impression of a very low side panel and giving the Convertible an even "lighter" and more dynamic appearance. Light falling on to the body above and below this line creates that perfect interaction of light and shade so characteristic of BMW's new design philosophy. And marking the beginning of this line, the side trim complete with its integrated direction indicator in the side intakes reminds the aficionado of classic BMW sports cars such as the BMW 3.0 CSi Coupé or the legendary BMW 507 Roadster.

18-inch wheels and 245 tires featured as standard

The character line and the striking, curved side-sills beneath the door and in the short overhangs "stretch" the Convertible in its looks and attract the eyes of the beholder to the 18-inch cast aluminum rims in radial-spoke design running on 245/45 R 18 runflat tires. Both 18- and 19-inch wheels with different-sized tires (245 at the front, 275 at the rear) are available as an option, including an awesome set of 19-inch forged aluminum wheels.

From behind: unmistakable with a unique vertical rear window

With the softtop closed, the rear window fitted in vertical arrangement between the roof fins gives the entire rear end of the new BMW Convertible a truly unique, unmistakable look. Retracting electrically between the luggage compartment and the rear bulkhead, the rear window ensures perfect air extraction from the interior without the slightest draught - a feature otherwise only matched by a sliding roof. When driving in the open air with four passengers in the car, in turn, you can leave the rear window in its upright position, protecting the rear passengers from draughts and air swirl. And with the roof and rear window fully retracted, the rear view of the car proudly highlights the headrests at the rear as well as the generous and luxurious ambience of the interior.

Fin look also on the roof compartment lid

The sculptured, beautifully contoured rear end of the new 6 Series highlights an aerodynamic "lip" integrated in the rear lid, reducing both rear lift and air resistance and thus serving to enhance driving stability and reduce fuel consumption.

Beneath the rear lid, there is a luggage compartment unusually large for a convertible, offering a capacity of 300 liters with the roof open and 350 liters with the roof closed. This extra space is made possible by special plastic trim in fin look on the roof compartment and the variable configuration of the compartment itself housing the softtop when lowered. Then, once the roof is closed, the roof compartment folds up within a matter of seconds to provide extra space for luggage and other items.

The two-piece rear lights are an outstanding example of attractive design and functional technology. Rising up above the bumper, the upper section of the rear lights is integrated in the side panels, ensuring visibility of the car from the side in the dark. And with the front direction indicators extending into the side panels as a kind of "eyeliner" above the headlights, the rear direction indicators form a clear border beneath the rear lights. Like the front, the rear direction indicators when active emit a yellow light, but otherwise come in a white look when switched off.

The rear lights are formed by six LED-fed light conductor rods, integrating the particular design and style of the parking light rings now so characteristic of BMW in the headlights at the front. The lower section of the tail lights forms a delicate light window in the bumper comprising the rear fog warning light, reversing lights, and the reflecting beams.

Together with the upper light element and the high-rise brake light integrated in the airflow lip, this light window ensures very sophisticated and striking light geometry giving the 6 Series Convertible a very high recall factor. Another special feature also helps to make the 6 Series Convertible absolutely unmistakable whenever the driver applies the brakes, LEDs in the high-rise brake light forming a banner of individual light dots and thus taking up the optical impression of the LEDs in the brake lights themselves.

Form and function to the last detail: lights with dynamic airflow contours

Aerodynamic airflow contours integrated in the rear lights again serve to improve the car's aerodynamic coefficient, minimizing both lift forces at the rear as well as yaw momentum in the interest of even better fuel economy and driving stability. In particular, however, the lights ensure an even higher standard of safety by helping to avoid accidents from behind: The extra-bright, fast-response, maintenance- and wear-free LEDs in the brake lights exceed the usual standard by far. At the same time these brake lights feature the Brake Force Display, an adaptive brake light system for even greater safety on the road: Whenever the driver applies the brakes hard or even all-out, the BFD enlarges the brake light area, clearly showing motorists following from behind that the driver of the 6 Series Convertible is braking hard. And this, obviously, minimizes the risk of bumper-to-bumper accidents from behind.

Last but certainly not least, a particularly striking touch is added by the flat, oval tailpipes at the end of the twin-chamber exhaust system made of stainless high-standard steel and positioned dominantly to the left and right of the diffuser lip.
Uncovered at the top, covered at the bottom: floor cover for optimum aerodynamics.
The extra-large and smooth underfloor of the 645Ci Convertible makes a significant contribution to the car's drag coefficient of just 0.31 quite exceptional for an open-air model. And the innovative "superlite" material used on the floor cover reduces weight by approximately 35 per cent versus the conventional materials otherwise used for this purpose.

The underfloor cover as such and its specific design and contours ensure a smooth flow of air beneath the car in the interest of minimum drag and lift. The airflow "lips" upstream of the front and rear wheels, in turn, as well as the front spoiler lip, improve the direct flow of air to the wheels, the customer benefiting from this sophisticated aerodynamic design through an even better drag coefficient in the interest of enhanced fuel economy, an even lower noise level, and the effect of dirt and contamination reduced to a minimum.

The interior: dynamic harmony

The exterior and interior of the BMW 6 Series Convertible blend perfectly to form one complete whole offering a unique feeling of unlimited freedom with the wind rushing by. Here the actual experience is the process of getting to your destination, not necessarily your destination as such.

The innovative design of the interior creates a unique touch of "Dynamic Harmony". "Dynamic", in this case, relates to the interaction, tension and flow of surfaces and lines. "Harmony" stands for the way in which these surfaces and lines support and accentuate each other, the interior and exterior of the 6 Series Coupé thus interacting with unique perfection.

Precisely this is why the design of the interior intelligently takes up specific design features of the exterior, contributing significantly to that unique feeling of Sheer Driving Pleasure so typical of BMW. The cowl trim starting beneath the windscreen extends into the doors on both sides in a dynamic curve, from there merging into and around the armrests. Sitting right in the middle of this flowing ambience, the driver and front passenger immediately enjoy a feeling of strength, comfort and sophistication.

An equally tense and exciting line in the center console generates a dynamic feeling of forward motion. Starting in the instrument panel, this line extends back diagonally along the center console, around the armrest and into the rear seats. And finally the organic impression of the interior is rounded off by the fin trim on the roof compartment harmoniously taking up and reflecting the design and colors of the interior.

Top-quality materials and harmonious colors

Creating the interior of a convertible is a genuine challenge for the designer in two respects. First, the driver and his passengers wish to feel pampered, comfortable and genuinely cocooned both with the roof closed and open. The challenge, therefore, is to achieve perfect harmony of aesthetic looks and functional excellence. Dark colors in the interior should not look drab or dreary with the roof closed, while in bright sunshine a light interior might appear cold and rejecting. And it goes without saying that the choice of materials must always live up to the very different light conditions in a convertible, on the one hand offering the desired contours, on the other hand avoiding any undue or excessive reflection.
BMW's interior "architects" responsible for the 6 Series Convertible have met this challenge through the creation of a genuine masterpiece: Perfectly finished materials of the highest quality, for example the very best leather and wood, harmonizes ideally with a sensitive combination of discreet, matching colors, creating a truly sporting and elegant ambience in the process.

Apart from the seats, the armrests, door closing handles, door inserts and side panels as well as the covers and lids on the center console are all finished in leather. Elaborate interior trim coming as standard in Pearl Gloss Ruthenium galvanic finish and as an option in Light or Dark Birch give the Convertible outstanding style and class in every respect. At the same time the wide range of features and colors gives the customer highly individual choice in creating an interior ranging from discreet understatement all the way to extravagant luxury.
Leather seats featured as standard in the 6 Series Convertible.

From the ground up, the standard seats come in top-quality Dakota leather easily braving even the worst wind and weather and at the same time offering the highest standard of luxury. These leather seats are available in Black, Cream Beige, and Chateau, in each case with precisely sewn seams adding the final touch of refinement.

Optional, exclusive High Performance leather upholstery features Pearl leather together with interesting trim highlights, in this case with the center console, sun visors and front seat backrests at the rear also finished in leather to give the interior an even higher standard of formal harmony. The colors available in this case are Black, Cream Beige, and Reed.

Interior in typical BMW design with a double binnacle

Again reflecting BMW's interior design philosophy, the Convertible features a double binnacle instrumentation system within the cockpit. The first binnacle accommodates the instrument cluster made up of the speedometer and rev counter in classic two-eye design. Presented in fine-scale chronometer look, both of these instruments come in matte-chrome ornamental surrounds. The fuel tank, oil temperature and other displays are also housed here. The second binnacle right in the middle above the center console accommodates the Control Display presenting information with the same clarity to both the driver and front passenger.
Driver-oriented cockpit.

All functions crucial specifically to the driver are positioned ergonomically on or around the steering wheel. Nearly all functions relevant to both the driver and front passenger, in turn, are grouped together consistently on and around the center console. Clearly, this keeps the interior very tidy and uncluttered, with only a few visible switches and controls.

This superior layout and configuration is ensured above all by the Controller serving as the central control unit operated via the Control Display to activate and mastermind nearly all comfort functions in the BMW 6 Series. And with the Controller being fitted in the extension of the armrest height-adjustable to two levels, the user's arm always rests conveniently on top in the interest of extra comfort and control ease.

Source: BMW AG

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