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The new BMW M6 Coupé with its V-10 507hp Engine and SMG
racing-style Transmission
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In launching the new M6,
BMW M GmbH presents the most dynamic and sporting
rendition of the 6 Series Luxury Coupe. This makes BMW's large
Coupe, in the guise of the M6, one of the most beautiful cars in the
world - and at the same time, the most sophisticated and powerful 6
Series ever: five-liter engine capacity, 10 cylinders, 507
horsepower, 383 lb-ft maximum torque, and engine speed beyond the
8,000 rpm limit.
Together with the
outstanding, uncompromising suspension designed and built
exclusively for sporting performance, this extraordinary power unit
gives the BMW M6 all the qualities of a thoroughbred super sports
car. But unlike its competitors, the BMW M6 comes with all the space
and comfort of a typical 2+2-seater, plus the luxurious features of
a typical luxury performance BMW.
The success principle:
True power in a discreet package
The BMW M6 shares its
unique power unit with the BMW M5. Ever
since being introduced in the M5, this engine has been acknowledged
as the benchmark, just as the M5 is the very epitome of the Sports
Saloon.
Now, based on its
outstanding performance, the BMW M6 sets a new standard in the
segment of high-performance 2+2-seater luxury sports cars. Creating
this unique model, the engineers at BMW M GmbH have focused not only
on the sheer power of the engine, but also on the weight of the body
and, as a result, the mass to be accelerated as quickly as possible
on the road. Reducing weight to a sensible minimum, the M6 comes
with all the driving dynamics required for the race track, while in
terms of motoring comfort and equipment it is simply ideal for all
roads the world over. Not least, the body design of the BMW M6
modified only discreetly versus the elegant look of the BMW Coupe
comes with all the understatement so characteristic of all M Models
as their elementary feature.
Interacting with the
seven-speed SMG transmission, the magnificent chassis and
suspension, the elegant body in innovative lightweight technology,
as well as the wide range of luxury equipment, the ten-cylinder
high-speed engine gives the customer a brand-new dimension in
motoring performance.
It is difficult to find
any genuine competitors to the M6, since all other more or less
comparable cars are either all-out supersports or sports sedans far
inferior in terms of agility. So given the car's innovative drive
concept, a power-to-weight ratio even better than on the M5, as well
as unique handling - and all this with all the everyday driving
qualities of a large coupe - the engineers at BMW M GmbH rightly
claim that the new BMW M6 truly comes in a class of its own.
V10 power unit
running at racing speeds
Sharing BMW's V10 power unit, the M5 and M6 come with one of the
rare high-speed engines in regular sedan and coupe production.
Within the entire BMW family, the V10 is indeed the most demanding
engine in technical terms and, without doubt, the top performer in
every respect. Power and performance, however, are not everything.
Rather, what really counts is a car's acceleration and driving
dynamics on the road. And this depends, first, on the weight of a
car and, second, on the thrust and power which actually goes to the
drive wheels - which, in turn, are a result of engine torque and the
overall transmission ratio. BMW's high-speed engine concept allows
an optimum gearbox and final drive transmission ratio in all cases,
thus guaranteeing impressive thrust and momentum on the road at all
times.
The perfect choice:
High-revving concept
A compact, high-revving
normal-aspiration engine is the best of all strategies in generating
maximum engine output: Revving up to speed of 8,250 rpm, the V10
reaches a speed range reserved until recently to purebred racing
cars alone. As a result, the engine exceeds the magical limit of 100
hp per liter, again achieving specific output of a standard
otherwise only found in motorsport.
The two five-cylinder
banks in the V10 are arranged at an angle of 90° in order to
optimize the standard of vibration control and motoring comfort
offered by full mass compensation on the crankdrive. Taking the
substantial forces of the combustion process, high engine speeds and
vibrations into account, the crankcase comes in bedplate design. The
extremely stiff crankshaft, in turn, runs in six bearings.
Variable dual-VANOS
camshaft control ensures an optimum cylinder charge cycle in the
interest of extremely fast valve timing. On the road this means even
more performance, an improved torque curve, optimum responsiveness,
lower fuel consumption, and emissions reduced to a minimum. Again
reflecting the typical features of motorsport, each cylinder comes
with its own throttle butterfly masterminded fully electronically
for each row of cylinders.
Twin-chamber exhaust
system made of stainless steel
Made of stainless steel
without any connecting seams, the exhaust system comes in
twin-chamber configuration all the way to the silencers, before
exhaust emissions leave the car through the four tailpipes so
characteristic of every BMW M Car. Exhaust emissions meet the
European EU4 and, respectively, the US LEV2 standards. The M6 stands
out from the M5 also through its even more powerful and sporting
sound.
This outstanding
performance and emission management is ensured and masterminded by
the central engine management unit featuring the most powerful
processors currently to be found in any car anywhere, since the
demands made of the management system are obviously particularly
stringent due to the very high engine speed and the sum total of all
control and management functions.
A particular highlight
of the engine control unit is ionic current technology serving to
detect any tendency of the engine to knock, misfire and suffer mis-combustion.
This intelligent control unit is able to sense any tendency to knock
via the spark plug in each cylinder, checking the correct ignition
setting and recognizing any tendency to misfire and thus allowing
the engine to run as closely as possible to its theoretical limits,
developing optimum power and performance in the process. The spark
plug serves both as an actuator for the ignition and as a sensor
observing the combustion process.
Seven-speed SMG
transmission conveying M Power to the road
BMW's seven-speed SMG
transmission will be the only one offered in the new M6. This
gearbox from BMW M is indeed the world's only sequential
transmission with seven gears and Drivelogic. With qualities even
greater than on a six-speed SMG gearbox, this transmission allows
manual selection of gears with extremely short gearshift times as
well as comfortable cruising qualities thanks to the automatic gear
selection function. And at the same time the additional gear keeps
the increments between engine speed and torque even smaller,
ensuring an absolutely smooth process of one gear "flowing" into the
other.
The driver shifts gears
in the SMG transmission either from the selector lever or via
paddles in the steering wheel. Compared with the conventional SMG
transmission, the new generation of SMG technology performs the
entire gearshift process 20 per cent faster, gears merging directly
into one another.
As a result, any
interruption of the flow of power inevitable when shifting gears now
becomes hardly perceptible. The BMW M6 accelerates virtually without
the slightest jolt or interruption from a standstill all the way to
top speed.
Maximum driving pleasure
Interaction of the V10
power unit and seven-speed SMG gives the driver of the BMW M6 Coupe
driving pleasure of the highest caliber: Acceleration from 0-100
km/h (62 mph) comes in 4.6 seconds and the M6 reaches 200 km/h or
124 mph in just about 14 seconds. Then, at a speed of 250 km/h or
155 mph, the electronic speed governor ends the car's irresistible
surge of power, while the speedometer gives you an idea where the
engine would take you without such electronic speed control: the
speedometer goes all the way to 330 km/h or 205 mph.
Lapping the Northern
Circuit of Nürburgring in 8 minutes
The world-famous
Nordschleife, the Northern Circuit of the legendary Nürburgring Race
Track, is the perfect benchmark for measuring driving dynamics. For
it is here, on the world's most demanding race track, that the
exceptional stand out from the mediocre in terms of driving
dynamics. Nowhere else is the interaction of all a car's components
as clear as here, when driving to the absolute limit. Lapping the
Northern Circuit in around 8 minutes, the BMW M6 easily matches the
most thoroughbred sports cars, clearly beating the competition.
M Suspension: The icing
on the cake of the BMW 6 Series
Lap times of this kind
clearly bear testimony to the M6's driving qualities, which is
actually no surprise, considering that the chassis and suspension
already outstanding on the BMW 6 Series as such. The modern
assistance systems have been specially adapted on the M6 for truly
unparalleled M Performance. Compared with the M5, the M6's wheelbase
is shorter and the car comes with a lower center of gravity for
extra agility on the road. In terms of both chassis equipment and
set-up, the M6 is therefore a unique car in every respect.
Variable M Differential
Lock
The variable,
speed-sensing M Differential Lock gives the M6 superior driving
stability and optimum traction particularly when accelerating out of
a bend. Even in very demanding driving situations, the differential
offers crucial advantages in terms of traction, for example with the
drive wheels running on very different surfaces with a wide range of
different frictional coefficients.
A further advantage -
the locking action immediately builds up when necessary to
compensate for any difference in speed between the drive wheels,
thus ensuring smooth and powerful drive forces at all times.
DSC with two dynamic
driving programs available on demand
The BMW M6 boasts a
brand-new generation of Dynamic Stability Control. With the first
stage of DSC being conceived for maximum driving safety, the M
Dynamic mode, as on the M5, is tailored to the sporting driver. And
pressing a button on the selector lever cover, the driver is able to
switch off DSC whenever he wishes.
EDC: From firm and taut all the way to comfortable and extra-smooth.
EDC Electronic Damper
Control on the BMW M6 offers the driver the choice of three programs
available on demand: Comfort, Normal, and Sports, with the car's
chassis and suspension ranging from sporting and taut all the way to
- relatively - smooth and comfortable. The driver operates EDC via
the MDrive button on the steering wheel or the push button next to
the SMG selector lever.
High-performance brakes
like in motorsport
Reflecting its truly
outstanding power and performance, the BMW M6 naturally features
extra-large high-performance brakes complete with cross-drilled
extra-low-weight compound brake discs. The double-piston swing
calipers are made of aluminum and are optimized for both weight and
stiffness. Applying the brakes from a speed of 100 km/h (62 mph),
the driver of the BMW M6 comes to a standstill after just 36 meters
and takes less than 140 meters to reach a stop from a speed of 200
km/h (124 mph).
High-performance athlete
in a beautiful body
With the BMW 6 Series
already acknowledged as a strikingly beautiful car,
the M6 enhances this impression to an even higher standard. Special
design features making this unique Coupe look even more powerful and
dynamic, while remaining discreet and unpretentious.
The most eye-catching
feature is the truly impressive front air dam. And like all design
features on a BMW M Car, this particular element focuses once again
primarily on its specific function: The V10 power unit requires
roughly twice as much cooling air as the V8 in the BMW 645Ci. Large
secondary intake openings to the left and right of the front air dam
thus give the engine of the M6 even more air to breathe and cool the
brakes at the same time.
Through their design
alone, finally, these air openings accentuate the sporting character
of the car.
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Pictures
