BMW will launch the new M6 Convertible first.
The BMW M6 is back after a two-year absence, with the performance version of the German convertible scheduled to reach U.S. showrooms in June, just in time for open air weather.
The BMW M6 Convertible will bear a 2012 designation, the M6 Coupe will be badged a 2013 model, however, when it lands in the States late this coming Summer. Both models, the maker claims, will deliver track-level performance while setting “new benchmarks in dialing driving comfort…and fuel efficiency.”
The third-generation M6 models – which go into production a quarter-century after the original – will share the most powerful engine ever fitting into a production model from BMW M GmbH and will introduce an innovative Active M Differential to optimize rear axle power transfer. But while the new engine will bump up horsepower by 10% over the prior M6 V-10, and torque by 30%, fuel economy is also expected to improve by 30%,
The new M6 will migrate to a twin-turbo V-8 rather than the prior generation's V-10.
The new M6 V-8 is borrowed from the BMW X5 M – known internally as the S63Tu, and uses the TwinPower Turbo System – with its two twin-scroll turbochargers — to achieve high-rev output. The 4.4-liter V-8 hits its stride between 5,750 and 7,000 RPMs, at 560 hp, compared to 555 hp at a peak 6,000 RPMs with the earlier S63 engine. Torque tops out at 1,5000 RPMs and holds flat at 500 lb-ft all the way up to 5,750 revs – three times the width of the old V10’s torque band.
The new V-8 will be mated to a new 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox specifically designed to handle the 4.4-liter engine’s high output. There will be no manual transmission available with the 2012/2013 update of the M6 line, a sharp break from BMW tradition, which underscores the maker’s confidence in the new DCT. But while there’ll be no clutch pedal a driver will be able to manually shift the transmission from either the gearshift lever or a pair of paddles mounted to the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
To improve comfort when driving in traffic, BMW has introduced a new Low Speed Assistance function which, it says, can smooth power delivery in stop-and-go traffic.
The new M6 Convertible will get 10% more power, 30% more torque - and 30% better mileage, BMW claims.
The new Active M Differential uses an electronic data link to the new BMW M6’s Dynamic Stability Control system, meanwhile, to smoothly shift power to the driven wheels to maintain maximum traction at all times.
That should make it easy to rip off the light and hit 60 in just 4.2 seconds in the Coupe, with BMW claiming 0 to 60 times of a just slightly longer 4.3 seconds for the 2012 M6 Convertible. The maker electronically limits top speed to 155 mph.
To scrub off speed, both versions of the M6 will be offered with 15.7 inches brakes up front and 15.6 inches at the rear. The M6 will be the first M models to offer carbon fiber brakes along with the 20-inch light-alloy wheels that will go into production next July.
The M Drive system can adjust six different key performance parameters: the engine management, the response of the Servotronic steering system, the M DCT shift program, the DSC mode, the responses of DDC and the information in the Head-Up Display. The desired settings can be configured in any combination via the iDrive menu or by using the M Drive select buttons on the center console.
The Bavarian maker plans to reveal pricing and specific fuel economy numbers closer to the Spring launch of the 2012 BMW M6.