Review of the new BMW M6

BMW may one day build something to directly rival an out-and-out driver-focused sportscar like Porsche's 911 but until it does, their M6 will suit many well-heeled buyers very nicely thankyou. If you must have the ultimate BMW, then this is probably it.

It's tempting to think of this model as nothing more than a coupe version of the M5 saloon. After all, it shares the same 500bhp V10 engine, much of the same M Sport technology and, as a result, pretty much the same performance figures. BMW say different, pointing out that this car has small but significant changes that give it an extra dose of driver focus: a fractionally shorter wheelbase, 50kgs less weight, wider and more aggressive tyres and a centre of gravity that's lowered by 6cm thanks mainly to its gorgeous carbon fibre roof. Let's find out.

True enough, this car is a slightly sharper tool than an M5, especially if you specify the Competition Pack option that was fitted to the car we tried. For a couple of extra grand, you get Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres on wider rims and lowered suspension front and rear, with the ABS, stability control and M Differential settings altered to suit. Like the existence of the M6 model itself, this option is BMW's attempt to move this top 6 Series model closer to Porsche's 911 and further from the Jaguar XK and Mercedes SL rivals that would otherwise be its natural competitors. In truth, it sits somewhere in between, more focused than, say, a Jaguar XKR but not a car you'd choose for regular trackdays. For regular trips to your own private test track in the South of France though, it would be just about perfect.

No car I can think of better combines Grand Touring comfort with out and out performance aggression, qualities summed up by the standard 7-speed SMG sequential manual gearbox. Performance purists would prefer the M3's conventional stick shift (that isn't offered) but the Munich engineers discovered early on that this mighty V10 engine doesn't really deliver without seven ratios to help keep the engine on the boil: it only really gets going between 5,000 and 7,000rpm after all. You can use the SMG like a conventional automatic but it feels a bit jerky if you do. Or you can play with the shift modes so that they range between silky smooth or racetrack brutal.

"It's desirable enough to make far more expensive supercars seem silly and pointless.."

Use the gloriously pointless Launch Control system, get your gearshifts right and rev the engine to its stratospheric maximum of 7,750rpm and 62mph from rest flashes by supercar-style in 4.6s on the way to a maximum that would be 205mph if you removed the chip that restricts it to 155mph. That's provided you press the MDrive button on the steering wheel that ups power output from 400 to 500bhp, gives you a little more leeway with the DSC stability control and sharpens the gearchanges. In MDrive mode, mid-range performance is particularly devastating, with the 50-70mph overtaking increment dispatched in second gear in just 1.7s. Any Lamborghini or a Ferrari you care to name would struggle to keep up with that but it'd sound better while doing it, right? Wrong. This V10 is one of the great engines of its time, lacking the scream of a highly strung Italian V8 or V12 but with a Vulcan bomber-type rumble that makes you feel like you're driving one of those fearsome Auto Union Grand Prix cars of the 1950s.

Whereas you have to look twice at an M5 to see if it's the real thing and not just an M Sport-trimmed 5 Series, there's none of that with this M6. This car looks much more muscular than other 6 Series models but the overall effect isn't outrageous. A deeper front valance houses air intakes for the engine and brakes, plus there are swooping sill finishers and a rear valance that incorporates a diffuser. Plus of course, there's that hi-tech carbon fibre roof with its natural-weave finish. Other small but significant touches have also been added to emphasise that this is no ordinary 6 Series: outside, the four telltale rear exhaust pipes. Inside, the red needles on MSport dials.

As you'd expect for this kind of money, it's all carefully built, with leather trim for the dash as well as the sports seats and beautiful Alcantara headlining to finish things off. The rear seats won't suit adults on longer journeys but they're OK on shorter ones and much more practical than those you'd find in a 911. The same goes for the 450-litre boot capacity, though that drops substantially if you go for the Convertible model.

List prices suggest that you'll be paying somewhere in the £85,000 to £90,000 bracket for your M6, with a premium of nearly £5,000 if you choose the fabric-topped Convertible version over this Coupe model. If you want to make yourself feel better about that, then you could consider the £15,000 saving that this represents over the comparable but less rewarding 525bhp Mercedes SL 63AMG. In fact, the M6's closest rival is Jaguar's 510bhp XKR which is £10,000 cheaper but also less focused. One other possible alternative is Maserati's GranTurismo S which costs about the same, sounds equally brilliant but offers 75bhp less.

Your position on this car's asking price will probably depend on how you view it. From one perspective, you're getting two fewer doors and the same engine than you would in an M5 for a list price that when new would see this car cost £22,000 more - the cost of a Golf GTI. On the other hand, this M6 is quite good enough to merit comparison with Porsche 911s and Mercedes SLs against which it looks pretty good value. There's an exhaustive equipment list of course which I won't trouble you with here except to commend the AHPS Advanced Head Protection System that provides protection from intrusion into the cabin and splintering glass from side impacts.

You won't be a fully paid-up member of Greenpeace if you're looking at buying this car. CO2 figures vary between 342 and 352g/km, depending on your choice of bodystyle, Official combined figures suggest fuel economy at around the 19-20mpg mark but in reality, if you drive this car as it was designed to be driven, you'll be lucky if you manage to achieve half of that. Unfortunately, given the feebly-sized 70-litre fuel tank, that means a real-world range of around just 160 miles if you're an enthusiastic driver. Insurance is predictably a top-of-the-shop group 20. Residual values aren't too bad but they won't rival those of a Porsche or a Maserati.

Many people's ideal supercar would be one that they could tail-out slide on a trackday, then cruise across Europe in afterwards. For them, this M6 will be perfect. Not everyone likes the SMG gearbox and it consumes fuel at a frightening rate but hey, we all have to pay for our pleasures.

So how will history remember this model? Well, it's desirable enough to make far more expensive supercars seem silly and pointless, with a glorious engine and a very special feel strong enough to make it a real Porsche or Maserati alternative. It's that good.