Great Expectations
Will BMW's new 6 Series keep up with the pack?

The night before the start of the 2001 Geneva Show, BMW chairman Joachim Milberg announced the company’s plans to build a new 6 Series, launching in 2003.

The professor’s news was like water in the desert to the legion of Sixer fans around the world who have waited a torturous twelve years since the last 6 Series rolled off the line at Dingolfing-Munich. In the long and hallowed line of BMW coupes, the 6 Series stands especially tall: the E24’s production run was longer than any BMW model before or since.

According to Dr. Milberg, the continuation of the 6 Series “will satisfy the customers' undaunted demand for a big BMW sport coupe.” Despite Automedia’s concept shot pictured below, no one outside BMW knows for sure the new coupe’s look or specification. The Web, of course, is full of speculation of what might be. One account has a production-ready coupe hidden in the recesses of BMW AG, waiting for the go-ahead by Dr. Milberg and the board. News of powerplant choices is a bit more reliable, ranging from a straight-6 of around 250HP to the Z8’s 400-HP V8.

New Sixer? This photo by Automedia shows one possible approach by BMW
as of  1999 regarding the new 6 Series. Elements of both Z3 and Z8 styling
are evident in a far more characterful design than BMW's last big coupe, the 8.

Given the original 6 Series’ beautiful lines and successful sales, expectations are high that the new Sixer will be an absolute triumph, aesthetically and dynamically. But there are no guarantees. BMW might well fail at the task of producing a worthy successor to design chief Paul Bracq’s elegant original. One sure path to oblivion is for BMW to follow the design cues of its X coupe concept - the blocky show car's oblique angles and lines would guarantee an aesthetic and sales disaster for any production BMW, let alone the heir apparent to the original 3.0 CS and 6 Series coupes.

British beauty. The 2001 Aston-Martin Vanquish exemplifies
classic European coupe form, boasting a 48-valve 6.0 liter V12
and 450hp. $228,000 buys 190MPH and 0-60 in 4.5 seconds.

How can BMW get their new flagship coupe right, straight out of the box? Look to current or near-future thoroughbreds which set the standard for today’s most desirable luxury sport coupes. These machines fire the passion of coupe aficionados around the world, and they set the bar for BMW’s new 6 Series. Such coupes as the Aston-Martin DB7 and Vanquish, Jaguar XK8 and Cunningham C-7 embody the classic rules of proportion and line absent from much of the current generation of automotive design. In the words of retired Chrysler president Bob Lutz, the man behind the stunning Cunningham C-7, “Jack o’lantern styling may get photographed at show time, but if it sells, it will be a miracle.”

American finesse. Featuring a stunning Stewart Reed design
and 500+HP from an American-sourced V12, the Cunningham
C-7 is a brilliant luxury GT coupe for 2004 production from
former Chrysler president Bob Lutz and Briggs Cunningham III.

Will BMW’s new 6 Series rise to the considerable challenge posed by the world’s supercoupes? At the very least, the extraordinary place of honor held by BMW’s original coupe de grace promises that the new Sixer will represent the company’s best effort.

A truly excellent design combined with an accessible price should insure the new 6 Series’ success as a worthy and world-class successor to a venerated original.  -Rick Sparks

Other Stories:
So Long, Sixer - Silbersix crosses the finish line.
66 By 6 - A Sixer motors west on Route 66 (Part Three).
Looks That Could Kill - Playing with fire in Munich.
66 By 6 - A Sixer motors west on Route 66 (Part Two).
The Book Of Motoring - Chapter & verse for motorists of every age.
66 By 6 - A Sixer motors west on Route 66 (Part One).
A Bridge Too Far - A look back at BMW's tragic 2002-2005 period.
Back In the Saddle Again - Let the rescue begin.
Retro Ad: 1986 635CSi - Trophies do have a certain appeal.
Southern Comfort In a Six - Late summer, a Sixer, & Southern highways through time.
Made In Germany - The legacy of the land of BMW.
Romancing the Six - Looking for love in all the right places.
Here's to You, L.A. - Where the sun always shines.
The Land of Zentrum - A Sixer pilgrimage to BMW's American Mecca.
Splendor Under the Oaks - Sunday in the park, with friends.
Silver Anniversary Sixer - The right thing to do.
Old Flames - The object of my former affection.
The Red Car - The best 45 cents I ever spent.
Hello, Sixer - The start of a beautiful friendship.
Retro Ad: 1975 530i - Father of the Sixer.
The Sixer Preservation Society - Six times around the world is enough. Or is it?
Freedom - For all her faults, America is a beautiful nation.
An Affair To Remember - Defining BMW's essence in 12 all-time great cars.
Baby's New Shoes - Treating the old girl to a new look and feel.
Mini Comes To Kansas City - Less is more for BMW's newest driving machine.

HOME

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws