#02#One of the few 'criticisms' we made of the V10-engined
BMW M5 and its sportier
M6 sibling was that the driver of the car rarely got to sample the full range of what can only be called musical notes that the 5-litre V10 is capable of playing through its four prominent exhaust pipes. Now, with the introduction of the BMW M6 Convertible, the driver finally can.
The Car Enthusiast was fortunate enough to be amongst the first publications to get behind the wheel of the new Convertible ahead of the car's release in Britain, but with Hurricane Gordon on our tails we were glad that our first drive would take place on the south east coast of France and what better place than the Côte d'Azur, an exclusive location for the most expensive new BMW money can buy.
Even more so than the M6 Coupé, the Convertible looks worth every penny of the £86,400 asking price. Launch cars were resplendent in Alpine White with contrasting red Nappa leather and a black soft-top. On paper, that may sound a little daring, but I think you'll agree that the car looks fantastic in the photographs, and even managed to turn heads in a town accustomed to beautiful people and their beautiful cars. Though at times the neck snapping may have had something to do with the gratuitous downshifting this car encourages you to partake in...
#p##02#
It's well documented on these pages that we are fans of BMW's 5-litre V10 engine, and it has been unchanged for the new Convertible. So, there's 507bhp at your disposal, which can be easily accessed via the sequential-manual gearbox. All the electronic trickery remains too, including adjustable gearchange speed, three-way adjustable electronic damper control (EDC), three-stage traction control and the POWER button that allows the driver to use the full beans or 'just' 400bhp. The
raison d'être for the Convertible has to be to allow the driver surround sound access to the noise that engine makes.
Start the M6 up with the roof in place and there is precious little difference between the Convertible and Coupé. Drop the slick soft-top and the car takes on a whole new dimension. Even at idle, the distinctive blare from the exhaust reminds you that this is not your average big cruising Convertible.
BMW had set out some treacherously twisty test routes utilising the infamous Route Napoleon, but to get there we first had to battle with downtown Nice traffic. Given the excellent quality of the road surface when out of the city, this was our only chance to find out how the Convertible body coped with broken tarmac and sharp ridges. On the worst section, the right hand side of the car was subjected to a series of deep, high-frequency bumps while the left hand side remained on smooth tarmac. The structure of the car felt solid as a rock, despite the presence of the stiff suspension. Admittedly, the ride on the hardest EDC setting verges on uncomfortable in these conditions, but more absorption is but a press of a button away; and anyway, who buys an M-car and complains that the ride is a little stiff?
#p##04#
We suspect that most buyers of the M6 Convertible will be keen drivers. Unsurprisingly, it comes alive the harder you drive it and soaked up our day of tight corner after tight corner punishment with aplomb. After about 100 miles of sustained abuse the brakes were remarkably still intact, which was a relief given the size of the vertical drops along the Route Napoleon! In fairness to the M6, the road was better suitable to a good hot hatch or a lightweight roadster, but the Convertible made a good account of itself and indicated that there is no loss of driver appeal, as is often the case with coupes that are turned into convertibles. It will be interesting to see how the M6 Convertible copes with our particularly challenging B-roads.
Throughout the day, we never tired of the gurgle, then wail, then roar of the V10. Judicious downchanging was employed whenever anything resembling a tunnel or tall wall presented itself for the sound to bounce off. It really is a thrilling powerplant and there is no better way to experience it than in the M6 Convertible. It's a good enough reason to pay the extra £4,640 over the Coupé; you'll never tire of it.
BMW M6 UK range overview
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BMW M6 Coupé
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BMW M6 Convertible
