Some car news again!
Has BMW become too timid? The next 6-series will follow the cautious evolution of the 7-series and our exclusive spy photos of the new 6-series Convertible prove that it's business as usual at Munich.
It wasn't always going to be that way. BMW was at one point toying with seven different concepts: a four-seater coup? and cabriolet, a coup?-cabrio with retractable hard top, a slightly more compact two-seater Mercedes SL rival, a pillarless four-door coup? with rear suicide doors, a four-door four-seater Z6 coup? like the CS show car, and a three-door shooting brake.
However, CAR has seen the latest cycle plan ? and the only survivors are project numbers F12 and F13. That means a cautious but classic 2+2 coup? and soft-top derivative. Clever marketing or missed opportunity? Time will tell.
BMW 6-series: the inside story
Today's 6-series, which was facelifted 2007, is a solid success in the market place. At about 20,000 units per year, it eclipses the Mercedes SL and isn't far behind the segment leader, Porsche's 911.
It's a big money spinner, too. The two-door sports car is basically a redesigned and repositioned 5-series and the product planners will do anything it takes to protect those fat profit margins. Which is why the new 6-series, revealed today as an early engineering prototype, won't usher in a culture shock design with Timothy Leary cutlines and Henry Moore surfaces.
The new Six: what's new
Just like the new 7-series, the next 6-series is a gently reheated evolution of the first-generation styling philosophy. There will be no rabbit hatch bootlid, no crying-eyes headlamps, no jaw-dropping bumpers. To fix the slightly odd proportions, BMW designers will shorten the overhangs and extend the wheelbase by 80mm.
Munich's designers will also shorten the nose by 40mm ? no mean feat in view of the more stringent pedestrian protection regulations now throttling car stylists. The roofline will be lowered slightly, and the overall effect will ? on the finished production car ? produce a sportier and more aggressive stance.