MODERN CLASSICS 71
wingsareformedfromthermoplastic
tosaveweight,thebonnetanddoors
are aluminiumandtheroofis carbon-
fibreina bidto aidthedietplanand
lowerthecentreof gravity.It’sstilla
heavycarat 1710kg,butthenit does
havetencylindersto carry.
Formany,theS85V10is reason
enoughto choosetheM6 –it’sa
persuasiveargument.Alongwith
Mercedes-Benz’sinsane6.2-litre
M1 56 engine,it representsthe
pinnacleof themainstreamnaturally-
aspiratedengine.Inaneraof
electrificationandhybridisation,it’sa
li ttlehardto fathomhowsuch
enormous,free-revvingengines
gracedsaloonsandmainstream
coupés.Andinthecaseof theM156,
anMPV(seep122).
Nosuchsullyingof thebloodlinefor
the S85–it appearedonlyintheM6,
M5anda Weismann.It’sa powerplant
thatclearlydeservedto liveina
supercar,butwe canonlyponderthe
‘whatifs’whilegazingat grainy
Googleimageresultsfor2008’sM 1
Homageconcept.
Accessingthatpowerrequiresa lot
ofsetup.There’sa pleasingwhumpon
startupanda fairlyrestrainedidle,
whichgivesyoutimeto concentrate.
The defaultsettingis P400,which
helpsto savefuelandsmoothoutthe
shiftsinfullautomode,whileP500
opensupallthepower.P500Sport
sharpensupthrottleresponseeven
further.Youcando allthisviaiDrive,
but youcanjusthittheMbuttonon
the steeringwheelandtheSport
buttononthecentreconsole.
Sofar,so logical.Quitewhythere’sa
needforsevenf lavoursof gearchange
severityI’mnotsure–surelythree
woulddo,or indeedsevengears.
WhileI’mno Ludditewhenit comes
tothesethings,there’sa sensethatthe
engineersofferedthislevelof
f l exibilitybecausetheycould,rather
thanbecausetheyshould.
OrperhapstheM6 hasan identity
crisis,bornefroma needto caterto a
rapidlygrowingAmericanmarketfor
BMWsthatdemandedcomfort,yet also
a Europeanheritageof high-revving,
screamingengines– so you endup with
a bit of both.In a bidto be a jackof all
tr ades,doesit masterneither?
InComfortmodeit’sstilla little
soggy,butthat’swhatComfortmode
’TWO TAKES ON THE ULTIMATE E63, 1023BHP
AND NORTH YORKSHIRE’S MOST BEMUSED SHEEP’
Discreet
gent’s BM.
Er, don’t
think so...
Big, but an
inch smaller
than the
Alpina’s.
