So with the prospect of moving the 911 onwards this year, my search for a new car starts with one of Munich's finest. The E63 M6.
Yeah, awful pics! The ad itself is here, which is much better.
Still, no-one wants to see pics of it really. What you really want to know is whether a fat, lardy-arsed barge with a stonking great lump up front could possibly replace the greatest sports car ever. No chance, surely?
Initial impressions are quite positive. It's not that much bigger than the 911, certainly not in width but then the Porker does have that posterior which helps the girth comparisons. The M6 is bigger, of course it is, but the lines and possibly the deep black of this car help shrink it to the eye. It's very subtle too, with just the single labelled badge on the rear to accompany the two M logos on the side strakes by the repeaters. The biggest giveaway that this is something special is the trademark quad exhaust, the sure sign of an M-car. Considering this is a Bangle-era car, it really doesn't shout too loudly, and maybe my aging 34 years finds this to now be a plus point.
The doors open with a solid movement, and clunk with that reassuringly expensive Germanic manner. Dropping into the seat is a cinch with the large door opening, and the seat itself is a curious combination of a sofa chair (big padded bolsters) and a race seat (a billion motors in those bolsters to lock you in place).It's comfy, sure, but it's also grippy. There's leather everywhere and it's held up well in this car, with only a smidge of wear on the door cards giving away the 50k miles this 2005 model has done. The steering wheel is like new, which is pleasing, unlike the scratchy centre console plastics. It's better than the Zed, but still disappointing.
What isn't disappointing is the noise. Not of the interior, although the Logic 7 stereo is superb, but of the engine. It throbs into life with a smoothness to settle the slightly busy idle, but at this point it's still maintaining the subtlety of the outside. Click the SMG III lever across from neutral to drive, and off you go. It's a fully automated manual 'box, unlike my dual-clutch PDK in the 911, so there's no creep at all. I make a somewhat jerky move away, which is my fault rather than the car, but it's a pussycat.
If you know all about this era M5/M6 you can skip this next part, but I'm a gadget freak so I love this stuff. The car starts up with only (!) 400bhp, with the SMG in slowest change mode, and the three-stage EDC dampers in soft. Like this, it's a lovely wafting bargemobile. It feels docile, but it's got more than enough shove to overtake with ease, and with plenty in reserve. You can then push the power button to give you the full fat 500 bhp, and then you can change the shift mode into a more aggressive change whilst adding manual changes with the paddles if you prefer, and then finally cranking up the damping level. I settle for P500S, SMG 5 and EDC 2. The S in the P500S stands for Sport, which is activated only by pushing the M button to recall your favourite settings. Basically, it's a sharper throttle response, and activates the HUD which shows gear, speed and rev counter so you no longer have to adjust focus when pressing on.
And finally, after all that, you find a straight and you press the throttle to the carpet. And then you hold on.
Make no mistake, my 911 is a quick car, but the M6 makes it feel like a diesel Fiesta. The rate at which it gathers speed is utterly immense, and it's done with a soundtrack that gives you a full aural eargasm. The V10 wants to rev, and when you really ring it out to 8500 RPM it's got that beautiful metallic tingle right at the top, a proper vee-ten shriek. It's not like some uber-barges where you don't know what speed you're doing: Every millisecond that goes by, you're acutely aware that this thing is shifting hard. I've never driven something so ferocious, yet had so much control because it's NA not the false shove you get with a turbo. Honestly, I could rant about it for days, but make no mistake that this is a very special powerplant. I've topped 175mph in the 911 which has a max speed of 186mph, but the grunt this thing has leaves me in no doubt that it'll hit 200mph. It's savage. Watching the rev counter climb higher and higher into those big numbers would never get tiresome, although keeping an eye out for blue lights might.
And yet, it never feels out of control. The steering is perhaps lighter than I'm used to, but it's accurate and I had no troubles placing the the car on some very tigt twisty bends. It doesn't feel any bigger than the 911 either, which is good, so I know that when I chance upon the right road the M6 won't leave me hungry for Pork. The middle EDC setting seems well suited to the British B-road, and the nose settles very quickly allowing you to press on with confidence. The brakes are typical BMW sharp, and I suspect they'd wither on track, but on the road? They're solid, and stop the 1700kg+ with ease and more importantly with feel.
So would I change? Well, my love for a Temper Orange HR 350 is still there, so I need to drive one of those to find out exactly where I want to go to next. It's not certain the 911 will even go, I'm just exploring options right now. The one issue I may have with the M6 is that it's too quick for the UK roads, which is a criticism I've laid at the door of the 911 in the past. That said, I've still found many occasions to enjoy the flat six to the full, so is it less of an issue now I have a dedicated track car? I'm not sure. What I do know is that I adore the M6 in a way I never did with my very brief flirtation with the V8 M3, and I'd be very happy with one in my garage.
Although I need a bigger garage for that, as the M6 is 191.8" and my garage is only 192" long, and I'm not that good at parking
