BMW rolls out F12 6 Series Coupe

BMW’s highly-anticipated 6 Series Coupe, teased to us in last year’s Paris Motor Show, is now officially launched worldwide. The Coupe’s launch follows the unveiling of the F13 6 Series Convertible nearly four months ago at South Africa. Two petrol engine options have been announced – a 3.0-litre blown straight-six powering the 640i, and a 4.4-litre V8 driving the 650i – both offered with an 8-speed slushbox as standard.

Replacing the controversial E63/64 6 Series, the new F12/13 Six has grown length-wise (by 74mm to 4,894mm) and side-ways (by 39mm to 1,894mm). Its wheels are also pushed closer to the edge, as the new car has an additional 75mm of wheelbase to make use of. It sits lower to the ground though, being 5mm shorter in overall height compared to its predecessor.

Underpinning the all-new 6 Series is the same platform on which the F10 5 Series and F01/2 7 Series sits on. As such, the 6 Series features the same level of chassis trickery as seen in its sedan brethren. All-round independent suspension use predominantly aluminium construction, with double wishbones up front and multi-link behind.

Also carried over from the 5 is the electric power steering, Servotronic and rear-wheel steering combo which BMW dubs Integral Active Steering. Providing power assist only on demand, BMW claims performance and fuel economy benefits for this setup to placate the purists’ wish for hydraulic power assist. As per the 5 Series, Integral Active Steering turns the rear wheels by up to 2.5 degrees in opposite direction to the front wheels below 60kph and the other way round above 60kph.

Drivers can set the mood of their 6 Series using the Drive Dynamic Control system, which allows suspension settings to vary between Normal, Sport and Sport+. The 640i has an additional Eco Pro mode, whilst cars with the Dynamic Damper Control or Adaptive Drive option box ticked gets an additional Comfort setting. If specified with Dynamic Damper Control and Adaptive Drive, changes in settings alters throttle and steering response as well.

Only two engines have been announced for the moment, both of them petrol, and both feature direct injection with TwinPower Turbo technology. As we all know, BMW interchangeably refers to twin turbo and twin-scroll turbo engines with the same TwinPower Turbo moniker.

The flagship 650i gets the 4,395cc N63B44 twin turbo V8 also used in the 550i and 750i. Quoted outputs are identical to the aforementioned models – 407hp @ 5,500 – 6,400rpm and 600Nm @ 1,750 – 4,500rpm. BMW claims a rated fuel consumption 10.4 litres/100km under the EU test cycle, and CO₂ emissions at 243 g/km – astonishing reading when stacked up against a sub-5-second century sprint.

In the 640i, meanwhile, is a 3.0-litre straight-six which we believe is an uprated version of the twin-scroll turbo N55B30 used in the 535i but massaged to make 320hp @ 5,800rpm and 450Nm @ 1,300 – 4,500rpm. These figures are almost identical to that produced by the twin-turbo N54 engine used by the 740i, but the N55 also happens to feature Valvetronic technology which the 740i’s twin-blower does without.

Official Power-Torque curves of the 640i and 650i. Click to enlarge.

Aided by its Auto Start-Stop function, the 640i averages a very impressive 7.7 litres/100km on the EU test cycle and produces 179 grams of CO₂ per kilometre traveled with minimal compromise in performance. Only 5.4 seconds are needed to hit 100kph and an electronic limiter is still required to cap its top speed to 250 clicks.

KON

Pictures: Official BMW release

See also:
– The new BMW 7 Series
– BMW 5 Series (F10) unveiled
– BMW gearing up for big show in Paris
– Live pics: All-new BMW 6 Series and X3 in Paris