2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe
With a starting price of $115,000, it should come as no surprise that the cabin of the M6 Gran
Coupe is a nice place to spend time. Our tester was outfitted with the $3,500 Merino leather option, which wraps the dash in the same sumptuous hides that cover the M sport seats. The headliner is a mix of leather and Alcantara suede, with a thick strip of hide bisecting the roof of the M6
Gran Coupe. It’s a simple touch, but the coachbuilt feel is the kind of thing that adds specialness
to a car. Carbon fiber replaces wood, and is essentially everywhere that isn’t covered in cow.
The M treatment only improves the Gran Coupe’s looks.
Being a BMW M car, the cabin shouldn’t just be a great thing to look a t, it should be an excellent
driving environment, as well. While the M6 Gran Coupe is no exception to this rule, it doesn’t pass
with flying colors. The low, coupe-like roofline makes this car genuinely difficult to get in and out
of. Even with the driver’s seat at its lowest level, I bumped my head occasionally, while lady passengers in dresses were warned beforehand to be conscious getting out of the orange M, lest they
pull a Britney. Once hunkered into the low, snug cabin, though, things come together well.
If the last M car you drove was the outgoing M3, this steering wheel’s large diameter and long, thin spokes will seem a world apart from that sled’s tiller. It feels fine
to the touch, while placement of the right-sized paddles makes working the dualclutch transmission a literal and figurative snap (really, tugging a paddle elicits a
lovely, mechanical click). The seats are snug, and offer the generous range of adjustments expected at this price point. Sight lines were an issue in the M6, though,
as the small rear window of the Gran Coupe body and that long hood force drivers
to rely on the car’s three cameras and fore- and aft-mounted parking sensors. It’s a
rather large car, and unless you want to go all Batman Begins and adjust your seat
for different driving situations, it’s tough to maneuver in tight confines.
2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe2014 BMW M6 Gran
Coupe2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe
The beating heart of this adventurous coupe-like sedan is BMW’s 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8. This is an engine that’s grown on us, despite lacking the charisma of
the 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 from Mercedes-Benz (more on that in a minute). The 4.4
comes to the party with 552 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, all of which
is available from 1,500 to 5,750 rpm. With that kind of thrust, it’s only natural that
a quick-shifting, dual-clutch transmission with seven gears dispatches power to the
M6 Gran Coupe’s rear tires. When used to full effect, the M6 GC can scamper to 60
miles per hour in a manufacturer-estimated 4.1 seconds (it feels quite a bit quicker
than that), and on to a limited top speed of 155 mph.
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the 6 Series Gran Coupe is the best-looking vehicle to wear the BMW roundel since some stylistic
genius decided to slap a pair of Angel Eyes on a titanium grey, E39 5 Series (though you’re obviously welcome to argue the point). The M treatment only improves the Gran Coupe’s looks, with
massive, gaping front air intakes forming a menacing smile. Even in Sakhir Orange, which is far
from the most flattering color on the palette, this is a car with presence. The meaty wheel arches
up front and wide haunches of the back add to this aggressive look, while traditional M cues, like
the carbon-fiber roof, quad-tipped exhausts and not-so-subtle side grilles further differentiate the
M6 from lesser Gran Coupes.