The secrets of the 6 have been revealed! BMW debuted its all-new 6-Series with the four-door Concept Gran Coupé at April’s Beijing Motor Show, and then unveiled the two-door coupé in concept form at the recent Paris expo. And now, our spies have caught the 6-Series Convertible ahead of its public debut at the Detroit Motor Show in January.
The drop-top will be the first to appear in dealerships, arriving in March. That’s followed by the coupé in July, with the four-door Gran Coupé launching in 2012.
According to our source, the Convertible in our main picture was being photographed for an official 6-Series accessories brochure – which explains the large alloy wheels and deep side skirts. Our spy shot also reveals that BMW has elected not to adopt the folding hard-top seen on the Z4 and 3-Series Convertible; the new 6 will retain a traditional fabric roof to keep manufacturing costs and weight to a minimum.
As with the two and four-door models, the drop-top features BMW’s more reserved, elegant design language. The flowing tail and wraparound rear lights are a stark contrast to the current 6-Series’ challenging look. In a first for BMW, the newcomer will also feature all-LED headlamps.
Inside, the emphasis is on quality materials and hi-tech gadgets, including an optional Bang & Olufsen stereo. The top-seller is expected to be the 640d, with its six-cylinder twin-turbo diesel. This will go on sale alongside two petrol variants: a six-cylinder turbo 640i petrol and the 650i, which has a twin-turbo V8 offering close to 500bhp.
BMW is unlikely to offer an M6 version of the new model in order to distance it from the forthcoming Audi R8-rivalling supercar, inspired by the Vision EfficientDynamics seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2009.
