08-25-2007, 07:46 PM
Here’s an amusing article about the M6 rattlebox. I’ve deleted the first part of the article, which passes (just) for English humour and isn’t very. It’s Clarkson’s attempt to demonstrate how clever he is. He isn’t. But the rest of the article was music to my ears. And I didn’t have to turn up the hearing aids, either. :old:
The article is here—> http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/li ... 294501.ece (http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article1294501.ece)
BMW M6 convertible
Ugly Betty, I want to make babies with you
Jeremy Clarkson
[Alleged British humour deleted]
I like the idea of the EU. But now it’s too big, and too unmanageable, especially as it’s trying to make a cohesive and yummy whole from a selection of ingredients that wouldn’t fuse even if you put them all in a blender and nuked it. Retsina, bangers, mash, small birds, goulash, dog and bratwurst is not something you’d want to put in your mouth. Ever.
We see the same sort of problems in the car industry. All the players reckon they can shave costs by merging with one another. So you have Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan, and Ford which has gobbled up Volvo, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar.
Apparently, however, even this isn’t enough so now there’s talk of General Motors joining forces with Renault and Nissan, and of Porsche reversing into Volkswagen, which already owns Seat, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Skoda.
Eventually I can see a time when there are only three car companies in the entire world. There will be one in the Far East, one in the West and BMW. Already, I have a sense when I drive a new car that it’s really just a mildly altered collection of exactly the same components that I encountered in the new model I drove the previous week. The tyres are from Pirelli, the gearbox from ZF, the brakes from AP, the stereo from Harmon Kardon, the seats from Recaro, the windscreen wipers from Bosch and so on.
Of course, BMW is no different. The bits that make up your 3-series are from the same companies that make the bits for everything else. And yet . . .
BMW is like Switzerland. It’s in Europe and the people there have eyes, noses and hair. On the face of it, they’re just like us, but they’re not.
The Swiss are independent and focused. And BMW’s the same. It doesn’t make vans or tractors or trucks. The only other places you’ll find the blue and white roundel is on a motorbike — which is cool, if you like wearing leather trousers — and on the Gulfstream V, which is cool no matter what strides you prefer. Sure, Bee Em dallied with expansionism in the Nineties, taking on Rover and emerging with Rolls-Royce and Mini, but it is still privately owned, and now has no obvious ties to anyone else.
Theoretically this shouldn’t work. BMW should have been crippled by go-it-alone development costs and wiped out by over-production. But last year it sold more cars than ever and predicted pre-tax profits in the region of £2.6 billion.
Perhaps this is because in the one-size-fits-all modern world some of us crave something a little bit different. A Kentucky Fried Partridge. A Big Mac and new potatoes.
Some BMWs don’t work. The 335 coupé I tested recently is too expensive and too boring, the X3 is useless on every level and the Z4 coupé appears to have caught elephantiasis of the arse. But when they work, they work very well. And the models that work best of all are the most independent, most focused of the lot. The M cars.
This brings me awfully late to the subject of this morning’s column. The M6 convertible. It’s ugly, it has a roof from Heath Robinson Ltd and it comes with a frighteningly bad flappy paddle gearbox. But despite all this I want to marry it, move with it to a croft in the Highlands and spend the rest of my life making M-powered Jezza babies.
There’s no real point to the M6 coupé. You’re better off buying the better looking, more practical and cheaper M5, which is just as fast.
But an open-air M6? Mmmm.
Of course, a Mercedes SL 55 is better looking and has a much better roof. It makes a better noise, too, and comes with a proper gearbox. But when you delve into the BMW’s iDrive system and find the control that unleashes all of the V10’s 500bhp, trust me, the Merc is made to look like it’s made from a mixture of wood and wallpaper paste.
The M6 never feels light, agile or sporty. But the speed. Oh my God. The speed. It’s hyperspace fast. And that’s more addictive than watching Deal or No Deal on crack.
I don’t know what you do for a living. But if you’re the chap who’s paying those Bulgarians 5p a year to pick daffodils, I suspect you’re making enough to buy an M6 convertible. You should.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model BMW M6 convertible
Engine 4999cc, 10 cylinders
Power 500bhp @ 7750rpm
Torque 383 lb ft @ 6100rpm
Transmission Seven-speed (sequential manual)
Fuel 18.6mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 366g/km
Acceleration 0-62mph: 4.8sec
Top speed 155mph limited (205mph unlimited)
Price £86,400
Rating 4/5
Verdict I think I’m in love
The article is here—> http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/li ... 294501.ece (http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article1294501.ece)
BMW M6 convertible
Ugly Betty, I want to make babies with you
Jeremy Clarkson
[Alleged British humour deleted]
I like the idea of the EU. But now it’s too big, and too unmanageable, especially as it’s trying to make a cohesive and yummy whole from a selection of ingredients that wouldn’t fuse even if you put them all in a blender and nuked it. Retsina, bangers, mash, small birds, goulash, dog and bratwurst is not something you’d want to put in your mouth. Ever.
We see the same sort of problems in the car industry. All the players reckon they can shave costs by merging with one another. So you have Daimler and Chrysler, Renault and Nissan, and Ford which has gobbled up Volvo, Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar.
Apparently, however, even this isn’t enough so now there’s talk of General Motors joining forces with Renault and Nissan, and of Porsche reversing into Volkswagen, which already owns Seat, Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley and Skoda.
Eventually I can see a time when there are only three car companies in the entire world. There will be one in the Far East, one in the West and BMW. Already, I have a sense when I drive a new car that it’s really just a mildly altered collection of exactly the same components that I encountered in the new model I drove the previous week. The tyres are from Pirelli, the gearbox from ZF, the brakes from AP, the stereo from Harmon Kardon, the seats from Recaro, the windscreen wipers from Bosch and so on.
Of course, BMW is no different. The bits that make up your 3-series are from the same companies that make the bits for everything else. And yet . . .
BMW is like Switzerland. It’s in Europe and the people there have eyes, noses and hair. On the face of it, they’re just like us, but they’re not.
The Swiss are independent and focused. And BMW’s the same. It doesn’t make vans or tractors or trucks. The only other places you’ll find the blue and white roundel is on a motorbike — which is cool, if you like wearing leather trousers — and on the Gulfstream V, which is cool no matter what strides you prefer. Sure, Bee Em dallied with expansionism in the Nineties, taking on Rover and emerging with Rolls-Royce and Mini, but it is still privately owned, and now has no obvious ties to anyone else.
Theoretically this shouldn’t work. BMW should have been crippled by go-it-alone development costs and wiped out by over-production. But last year it sold more cars than ever and predicted pre-tax profits in the region of £2.6 billion.
Perhaps this is because in the one-size-fits-all modern world some of us crave something a little bit different. A Kentucky Fried Partridge. A Big Mac and new potatoes.
Some BMWs don’t work. The 335 coupé I tested recently is too expensive and too boring, the X3 is useless on every level and the Z4 coupé appears to have caught elephantiasis of the arse. But when they work, they work very well. And the models that work best of all are the most independent, most focused of the lot. The M cars.
This brings me awfully late to the subject of this morning’s column. The M6 convertible. It’s ugly, it has a roof from Heath Robinson Ltd and it comes with a frighteningly bad flappy paddle gearbox. But despite all this I want to marry it, move with it to a croft in the Highlands and spend the rest of my life making M-powered Jezza babies.
There’s no real point to the M6 coupé. You’re better off buying the better looking, more practical and cheaper M5, which is just as fast.
But an open-air M6? Mmmm.
Of course, a Mercedes SL 55 is better looking and has a much better roof. It makes a better noise, too, and comes with a proper gearbox. But when you delve into the BMW’s iDrive system and find the control that unleashes all of the V10’s 500bhp, trust me, the Merc is made to look like it’s made from a mixture of wood and wallpaper paste.
The M6 never feels light, agile or sporty. But the speed. Oh my God. The speed. It’s hyperspace fast. And that’s more addictive than watching Deal or No Deal on crack.
I don’t know what you do for a living. But if you’re the chap who’s paying those Bulgarians 5p a year to pick daffodils, I suspect you’re making enough to buy an M6 convertible. You should.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model BMW M6 convertible
Engine 4999cc, 10 cylinders
Power 500bhp @ 7750rpm
Torque 383 lb ft @ 6100rpm
Transmission Seven-speed (sequential manual)
Fuel 18.6mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 366g/km
Acceleration 0-62mph: 4.8sec
Top speed 155mph limited (205mph unlimited)
Price £86,400
Rating 4/5
Verdict I think I’m in love