BMW M6 Convertible 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $308,500
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Wind deflector $800; Digital radio tuner $950
Crash rating: N/A
Fuel: 95-98 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 10.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 239
Also consider: Aston Martin V8 Vantage S (from $280,600); Audi R8 Spyder (from $308,400); Jaguar XKR-S (from $299,000); Maserati GranCabrio (from $328,000); Mercedes-Benz SL 500 (from $304,500); Porsche 911 Carrera 4S (from $315,000).

Everything about the BMW M6 convertible is astounding.

The performance figures, the price, the looks, the technical lengths BWM’s M divison has gone to ensuring driving integrity in a package shorn of its roof -- which after all is a fundamental stress bearing component of any car.

So why then am I less than astounded when I drive it?

There’s no concerns rolling down a country road with the top dropped, that mighty V8 burbling effortlessly along, the oh-so-capable chassis dispensing with fast, sweeping corners without being at all ruffled.

Maybe it’s because the thing is so complex. There are lots of buttons, modes and tunes to acclimatise to and set. It seems distracting from the experience rather than enhancing it.

Then there’s the size of the thing, more the weight than the 4.9m length. The M6 convertible is basically two tonnes, yet it’s really only spacious enough to carry two people and a small amount of luggage.

That weight and size means the M6 convertible never shrink wraps in the way truly great driver’s cars do. That long bonnet always stretches off into the distance and it always feels heavy sitting on the road, especially a tight and winding one. It just seemed to add up to less than it should be when you piece all those carefully hewn and crafted bits together.

But let’s go through it from the beginning. What we have here is the second generation M6 convertible. Priced at $308,500, it actually dips in cost from its predecessor, which was roughly $5000 more expensive when it went off-sale back in 2010.

Like the M6 coupe and the M5 sedan, the convertible is powered by a 4.4-litre V8 that pumps out 412kW at 6000rpm and 680Nm from 1500rpm to 5750rpm with the aid of two twin-scroll turbochargers. That’s 10 per cent more power and 30 per cent more torque than the V10 that sat under the bonnet of the old car.

It jets from 0-100km/h in 4.3 secs – making it BMW’s fastest production drop-top ever – and on to 200km/h in 13.1 secs. The top speed is limited to 250km/h in Australia, while in Europe it can be lifted to 305km/h.

And yet BMW claims a combined fuel consumption average of 10.3L/100km, which equates to the emission of 239 grams of CO2 per kilometre. Hey, it’s hardly green, but it is about 30 per cent better than the old car. Remember though, it’s a theoretical figure. Our test average came out at a more realistic 11.9L/100km.

The engine has Valvetronic variable timing, Double Vanos variable camshaft control and direct injection among its efficiency and performance aiding features. It bolts up to a dual-clutch M-DCT seven-speed gearbox, which also helps with economy and acceleration, incorporating idle start-stop and launch control. Drive is funnelled to the massive 295/30ZR20 rear Michelin Pilot Super Sport’s via M’s fully variable limited slip differential.

The engine behaviour can be adjusted in three modes; so can the suspension, the steering, electronic stability control and the gearbox. You can combine your favourite settings into combinations and save them on the steering wheel via ‘M1’ and ‘M2’ buttons. There is lots of tailoring available if you are into that sort of thing…

And like we’ve said, there’s plenty of weight too. Some of that is quite massive body reinforcements designed to eliminate scuttle shake and retain dynamic integrity – which it largely does. It’s not like BMW hasn’t tried some dieting, with various aluminium, thermoplastic and glass-fibre components and/or panels adorning the M6. It also retains a cloth top, rather than going to a folding hard-top.

Another weighty contributor is the long equipment list, which includes such finery as Merino leather trim, superb heated and ventilated front seats that adjust electrically and pneumatically, a head-up display, surround view parking assistant, excellent adaptive LED headlights, a 12-speaker audio system and a 10.2-inch colour monitor for stuff like the sat-nav, reversing camera and internet that looks like a flat screen telly has landed on the dash.

Safety equipment includes front and front-side/head airbags and a plethora of electronic acronyms, as well  as lane departure warning and lane change warning. Aluminium roll-over hoops jut out when an impending blue-green moment is sensed. Those big 400mm front and 396mm rear discs count as important safety items too, the fronts clamped by six-piston callipers.

And they are sensational brakes too, perhaps the most convincing dynamic component of all. No modes required.

Of the rest, the hydraulic steering seemed easiest to operate in Comfort mode, becoming progressively heavier progressing through Sport and Sport+. The engine lost any sense of lethargy once out of efficient mode, but was never, ever less than overwhelming – with the exception of the note, which was more turbine than mongrel.

The M-DCT ‘box was the weakest link. Twice in manual mode when accelerating hard and changing from first gear via the paddle shifters, it hung up in a false neutral, had a big rev and then went BANG into second. It only happened a couple of times and only in that gear combination, but still not good.

There’s also some banging -- and bobbing around -- over our crappy Aussie roads. It subsides when the dynamic damper control system is set in Comfort mode, but never disappears. This is a stiffly set up and weighty car rolling on low profile run-flat tyres so you just can’t expect a sugar-coated ride. Mind you considering the rear suspension eschews a subframe and is bolted straight to the body – an M modification that doesn’t apply to the standard 6 Series – it’s actually not too bad.

By contrast, with its shark nose and long, low bodyline the M6 looks terrific, roof opened or closed (a process completed in 19 and 24 seconds respectively at up to 40km/h). Inside it is a very driver-oriented cockpit, with full power adjustment of the M-specific steering wheel and a sizeable left footrest. And with the optional $800 (!) wind deflector in place it’s a pretty smooth place to be with the roof tucked away.

Using the wind deflector also means no-one can sit in the back seat. That’s good news, because no-one would want to be trapped there for more than a few minutes.

But then I’m not that convinced I want to sitting up-front in the M6 convertible either. For sure I’ll never have $300,000 to spend on a car, but if I did and it had to be a convertible then two other Germans would lead the M6 for me – the Porsche 911 Carrera Cabrio and Audi R8 Spyder.

Yes, shoot me down, they’re different mechanical propositions etcetera. But if the blokes from M division want to truly understand a set of componentry adding up to a greater whole, start there.

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