Part I: The New BMW 6 Series - In Depth

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Part I: The New BMW 645Ci - In Depth

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Part II: The New 645Ci - In Depth
6 Series Photo album - 40 Photos added

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Yes – they still exist: those cars with genuine passion! Cars which appeal directly to your heart simply through their superior style and elegance, their attractive looks and temperament. The new BMW coupé is precisely that kind of car. More a way a life than a means of transport, the new 645Ci combines perfection in technology with equally outstanding exclusivity, a sporting character, and fascinating joy of motoring. An exemplary representative of the luxury high-performance coupé segment, the BMW 6 Series is a typical BMW all round. It is dynamic, with proportions distinguished by the stretched-out and sleek front lid, the passenger cell moved far to the back, a long wheelbase and short overhangs front and rear. It is full of power and muscle in its looks alone, as revealed by the strong curves on the body. Appealing from every angle, the new BMW 6 Series coupé takes on a new, interesting look through the interplay of light and shade. Elegant and smooth, the harmonious lines and the powerful shoulders of the 6 Series make the car appear to hover in space. The striking rear end with its integrated spoiler and the two exhaust tailpipes left and right provide ultimate proof that this a top-flight athlete, a car built to give you sheer driving pleasure in every respect. A perfectly trained thoroughbred ready and waiting to go: concentrated – determined – consistent. This supremacy is matched by a wide range of trendsetting innovations lifting the new 6 Series into the highest realms of motoring also in technological terms and making the car the benchmark in its class: Active Steering, Dynamic Drive, SMG transmission, Adaptive Headlights, intelligent lightweight technology, Head-Up Display, as well as iDrive with enhanced voice processing, to name just some of the most important innovations. The exterior: powerful – exciting – emotional.
From every angle the 645Ci exudes an aura of powerful presence. Its strong character lines flow smoothly along the car without a specific beginning or end, combining the front, side and rear to form one harmonious whole, a living, precise sculpture. The concave and convex surfaces emanate a feeling of power and breed pure emotion. This leads on to an optical feeling of excitement ruling out even the slightest inkling of boredom. For the design of this car is not just the design of an outstanding coupé – it is a shape full of unique, aesthetic character making the new 6 Series a car beyond comparison. Despite this unique style and appearance, the new 6 Series fits perfectly into BMW’s modern design strategy. It takes up the principles of sculptural design, re-interpreting these features in its new, unique way. In its design language the 6 Series thus resembles a three-dimensional sculpture of timeless elegance, a work of art attracting the attention and emotion of the observer regardless of place, time, lighting conditions, and your particular angle and perspective. Following the example of a classic coupé, the engine compartment lid extends out in a smooth and sleek line from front to rear, finally merging into the shorter, flat roof line of the passenger cell moved further to the back. This look of flat and stretched muscle is enhanced by the long wheelbase and the short overhangs front and rear, as well as the characteristic shoulder line giving the 6 Series a “light� impression, as if it were hovering in the air. Again in a very sporting note – and thus also reminiscent of a typical Gran Turismo sports car – the striking rear end with its integrated spoiler offers the final touch. Here, the rear lights with their LEDs and light conductor rods, as well as the integrated spoiler edges, add a striking aerodynamic touch. And last but not least, the two oval tailpipes of the twin-chamber exhaust system bear clear testimony to the standard of this top-flight performance athlete, providing yet another hint of supreme driving pleasure. The interior: dynamic harmony throughout.
“Dynamic harmony� is the philosophy rendered within the interior of the car. “Dynamism� characterises the tension and motion of the surfaces and lines. “Harmony� describes the way in which these surfaces and lines interact with one another, each confirming the other’s message. The interior design of the new BMW 6 Series clearly supports and confirms the feeling of sheer driving pleasure so typical of BMW. The side contours starting beneath the windscreen stretch up dynamically along both sides of the car into the doors and around the armrests. The driver and front passenger are cocooned by this aura of dynamic motion, literally feeling and sensing that unique touch of solidity, class and style. An equally powerful touch of forward-moving dynamism is created by the exciting lines along the centre console starting in the instrument panel, extending diagonally along the console, continuing round the supports and surface padding and finally merging into the rear seats. Given all these features, the interior design provides a perfect match for the attractive exterior design of the new 6 Series. Outside and inside and from every angle, this is a complete work of art underscoring the exclusive and sporting message of the BMW 6 Series so rich in tradition in an exceptionally complete manner. Sophisticated materials and harmonious colours creating an ambience full of luxury.
Sophisticated, perfectly finished materials such as leather, wood and various kinds of metal, as well as the sensitive choice of matching, discreet colours, create an ambience of sheer luxury within the passenger compartment, without in any way neglecting the various functions of the individual components, instruments and controls. Sophisticated trim strips in galvanic technology or wood give the coupé an aura of genuine value, whilst at the same time the sheer diversity of colours gives the customer a very wide and extravagant range of choice in creating his – or her – personal style. The armrests, door handles and the cover on the centre console naturally come as standard in top-quality leather. Again in typical BMW style, the cockpit is oriented towards the driver in every way: All functions directly relevant to the driver are arranged ergonomically on or around the steering wheel. Virtually all functions relevant to both the driver and the front-seat passenger alike are also grouped in one logical arrangement on and around the centre console. The interior nevertheless emanates a feeling of clarity and tranquility, with only a few controls and switches being really visible. This is attributable in particular to the Controller acting as a central control unit via the Control Display in activating and masterminding nearly all comfort functions within the 6 Series. Located in the extended section of the centre armrest adjustable for height, the Controller always allows the driver to place his arm comfortably and ergonomically on the centre armrest in the interest of extra convenience and control ease. The centre console offers ample storage space in two extra-large compartments. The front compartment is integrated in the central locking, the rear compartment is able to take up the front cupholders (option), making them disappear from sight when not in use. Front seats with memory function featured as standard.
Superior ergonomics is also ensured by the front seats with memory function featured as standard: Being able to memorise three different seating positions, the driver and front passenger seat can be adjusted electrically fore-and-aft, in height, and in the angle of both the seat bottom and backrest. The headrests, in turn, may be adjusted manually for both height and angle. Even in “basic� trim, the seats are finished in top-quality Dakota leather with natural grain providing a perfect match for the sophisticated class and style of the 6 Series. This leather upholstery is available in Black, Cream Beige, and Chateau. Available as an option also with electrical adjustment, the sports seats offer firmer, tauter upholstery providing even better body support particularly under dynamic driving conditions. The electrically operated lumbar support, in turn, available as an option on the basic seats, is included from the start on the sports seats, the infinitely controllable air chamber system giving the occupant perfect support in finding his or her optimum orthopaedic seating position, supporting the back muscles and taking any load or undue force off the backbone. Manually adjustable thigh supports also come as a standard feature. Both the basic and sports seats are available with a three-stage seat heating system warming up the complete body area on the seat squab and backrest including the side padding very quickly and efficiently. A fully-fledged 2+2-coupé.
Speaking in coupé terms, the passengers sitting on the rear seats of the BMW 6 Series also travel first class. This is attributable to the simple fact that while coupés normally have a lower and sleeker roof line than a saloon, even adults sitting on the rear seats of the 6 Series coupé will find ample space for short journeys. And at the same time the deeply contoured leather seats separated from one another by an elevated cushion in the middle, together with the backrests offering the same kind of contour, ensure very good side support. The comfortable easy access system on the driver’s and front passenger’s seats, in turn, provides convenient access to both rear seats without requiring the passengers to bend or crouch down low. Here again, therefore, the new 6 Series is a fully-fledged 2+2-coupé for all purposes. Another practical asset of the 645Ci is its large luggage compartment with 450 litres capacity: A complete set made up of one large, one medium-sized and one small hard shell case or a large suitcase and two 46-inch golf bags eniently into the luggage compartment. In winter sports, the ski bag in the middle of the rear seat backrest allows the driver and his passengers to take along two pairs of skis or a snowboard. With its glove compartment offering 4.8 litres capacity, storage pockets in the doors, nets on the seats, and additional storage pockets and compartments at various other points, the 6 Series offers all occupants a wide range of practical storage options. This applies particularly to the two-section, lockable storage compartment beneath the centre armrest able to accommodate the telephone safely and conveniently for comfortable use at any time. Extra-large glass panorama roof.
The extra-large glass panorama/vent roof is a particular highlight giving the interior a wonderful ambience generous and sophisticated in style. Apart from the large transparent area of 806 x 578 millimetres or 31.7 x 22.8´´, the glass roof comes with an electrically adjustable interior lining in aluminium sandwich structure providing superior climate control and sound insulation, without in any way impairing the occupants’ headroom. Passive safety of the highest standard.
The new BMW 6 Series offers the very best in passive safety, reliably protecting all occupants in the event of a collision. To meet the most uncompromising demands for passive safety, the new BMW 6 Series features high-load-resistant arms and carriers all round. The deformation zones front and rear are put to optimum use in the interest of supreme safety, the entire structure of the front end is fully compatible to offer optimum protection in collisions with other road users. The extremely stiff passenger cell, in turn, gives the occupants the survival space they require even in the worst accidents, the vehicle package allowing the occupants to move forward as far as possible in a head-on collision in order to absorb impact energy. The crash element in the steering column deforming according to a predetermined response curve telescopes over a length of approximately 80 millimetres or 3.15´´, again serving to reduce possible loads acting on the occupants. Optimum protection in the event of an accident.
Also featuring highly efficient restraint systems, the new 6 Series offers its passengers optimum protection in an accident. The seat belts, for example, come with belt force limiters and belt latch tensioners on the front seats. Both the driver and front passenger have the benefit of a two-stage frontal airbag, these “intelligent� airbags adjusting their rate and degree of inflation to the severity of an accident in order to minimise the risk of injury. A further point is that the front passenger airbag is concealed behind an invisible opening line within the instrument panel, thus maintaining all the dynamic harmony of the car’s interior design. One airbag each in the doors and the AHPS headbag around the side windows provide the final touch in protecting the front seat passengers. In their effect and efficiency, the AHPS (Advanced Head Protection System) airbags go far beyond the standard function of conventional ITS headbags combining the structural advantages of conventional headbags with the further benefit of large area protection provided by a kind of sail or curtain stretching out across the entire side window. So should the worst come to the worst, the occupants are efficiently protected from glass splinters, etc. ASE control system: optimum protection at the right time.
This wide range of interacting safety components is supported and enhanced by the innovative ASE Advanced Safety Electronics system. A progressive, networked airbag control system, ASE uses lightwave conductors and is able through decentralised satellites to exactly determine the position of a collision or impact, ensuring extremely quick and target-oriented activation of the car’s restraint systems. And at the same time Advanced Safety Electronics reduces the risk of false activation to an absolute minimum. The Head-Up Display: giving the driver a clear view of all important data.
The Head-Up Display, a revolutionary enhancement of BMW’s iDrive control philosophy, is an innovation of the highest standard: Important information such as your road speed and navigation data is projected directly into the driver’s line of vision, BMW being the only European car maker to offer this revolutionary technology in a production car. The Head-Up Display enhances motoring comfort and serves in particular to maximise driving safety, since the driver is no longer required to take his eyes off the road ahead and the traffic around him. Even a wet road, darkness or sunshine will not impair the presentation and display quality, since the system automatically adjusts in brightness to surrounding conditions. The new 6 Series obeys all your commands.
The new 6 Series obeys all your commands, listening to and following every word you say. The reason, quite simply, is that the iDrive control philosophy featured by BMW now comes with a new, optional voice entry system. In combination with the Professional navigation system and the Car Communication Computer (CCC) available as an option, the driver is able to activate all relevant iDrive comfort functions while motoring simply through his voice, choosing the various alternatives offered in the display by a voice message. And since the driver, as a result, is no longer required to take his eyes off the road, this enhanced voice entry system not only improves driving comfort, but also means a new standard of safety on the road. The system itself operates independently of the speaker, meaning that there is no need for time-consuming voice or language training. Another feature is the intelligent text-to-speech function reading out e-mails, short messages, the names of radio stations or lists of options for a specific choice to be made by the driver. Entering specific short commands, the driver is also able to access further details and features offered by iDrive. And last but not least, the Control Center enables the driver to access the BMW online portal offering a wide range of internet-based services, again avoiding any distraction of the driver from traffic around him. Precise steering with Servotronic featured as standard.
The supreme level of driving pleasure, motoring comfort and road safety offered by a BMW is largely attributable to the ultra-precise and responsive steering system as well as the precise feedback it gives the driver. Benefitting from hydraulic rack-and-pinion steering with Servotronic featured as standard, the driver of the 645Ci is able to enjoy the most sophisticated and modern technology with steering assistance being provided according to an exact control curve as a function of road speed. This offers the driver highly comfortable and smooth steering operation, for example when parking, and avoids the risk of the driver suddenly tearing at the steering at high speeds, for example in quick manoeuvres to avoid an obstacle looming up ahead, since in this case Servotronic reduces steering assistance to an appropriate level. Despite all these qualities, Servotronic is still subject to certain limits in solving the conflict of interests encountered with any conventional, passive steering – the fundamental compromise between agility, stability and comfort. For the fact remains that the steering wheel and the front road wheels are always connected to one another by a consistent transmission ratio, even if this ratio becomes more progressive as a function of increasing wheel lock. Active Steering optimising the dynamic character of the new BMW 6 Series.
Only an active steering system such as BMW Active Steering available as an option on the new BMW 6 Series is able to solve this conflict of interests. BMW Active Steering is an electronically controlled steering system with variable steering transmission and power assistance. Whenever the driver prefers a sporting style of motoring up to about 120 km/h or 75 mph, the car responds with far greater agility and precision thanks to the more direct steering transmission ratio. This offers a significant advantage above all on fast, winding country roads or mountain passes, Active Steering sparing the driver the job of constantly having to cross over his hands on the steering wheel. The far greater agility and steering precision thus provided by Active Steering may be described quite appropriately as a genuine “go-kart feeling� significantly enhancing the dynamic character of the new BMW 6 Series. In town this revolution in steering technology facilitates above all the process of parking the car, less than two revolutions of the steering wheel being required to turn the wheels from far left to far right. As speed increases, the steering angle and steering power assistance are successively reduced, leading to even better and smoother directional stability and thus benefitting driving stability in general. The driver himself will appreciate the much higher standard of comfort he enjoys as a result. Active Steering also features yaw rate control and is connected to the DSC driving stability system. It is therefore able to intervene on the front wheels via the steering angle in order to make minor corrections of the yaw angle, such intervention in the steering being faster and less noticeable to the driver in the lower DSC response range than intervention in the wheel brakes by DSC itself. Active Steering and DSC therefore form an ideal match. With Active Steering combining the options and benefits of electronic by-wire functions with a mechanical link connecting the steering wheel to the steering transmission, the entire steering system remains fully operative at all times and in every situation. And the mechanical transmission of forces ensures precise feedback from the steering to the driver, giving him the feeling he requires of the road and the steering itself. Revolutionary Adaptive Headlights.
Developed exclusively by BMW, the Adaptive Headlights are a revolution in automotive lights technology: As if they were guided by a magic wand, the bi-xenon headlights fitted as standard move the adaptive light beams available as an option round each bend, improving illumination of the road ahead by up to 90 per cent. And unlike other systems, BMW Adaptive Headlights operate in all speed ranges both with the high and low beam. Via the on-board network, the control unit receives permanent information on the steering angle, yaw rate, and the road speed of the car, processing this data and passing on appropriate commands in real time to the two actuators serving to actually swivel the bi-xenon headlight modules in the right direction. The BMW eight-cylinder: definitely best in class.
The “heart� of the 645Ci is the 4.4-litre eight-cylinder carefully matched to the sporting character of BMW’s new coupé. A milestone in modern engine technology, this power unit is the winner of the International Engine of the Year 2002 Award comparable to the “Oscar� in the world of motoring. Quite rightly, therefore, this award confirms that BMW’s engineers have developed the best engine in this class. Providing maximum output of 245 kW/333 bhp at 6,100 rpm and maximum torque of 450 Newton-meters/332 lb-ft at just 3,600 rpm, BMW’s 4.4-litre V8 is beyond any debate on driving performance and motoring culture. Sufficient proof of this superiority is the electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h or 155 mph as well as acceleration from 0–100 km/h in 5.6 seconds with the manual gearbox version of the 645Ci, a figure truly impressive even with a sports car. Outstanding performance of this kind is attributable primarily to the infinite adjustment of virtually all relevant parameters on the eight-cylinder such as valve timing (bi-VANOS), valve lift (VALVETRONIC) and even the length of the intake manifolds, thus meeting virtually all requirements and coping with all driving situations in an optimum manner. The customer benefits from this uncompromising engine management by fuel consumption of just 11.7 litres premium plus/100 km (24.1 mpg Imp) with manual gearbox and an even more economical 10.9 litres/100 km (25.9 mpg Imp) with automatic transmission in the new European combined cycle – a standard of fuel economy without doubt quite exceptional on an eight-cylinder petrol engine. At the same time the engine complies with the currently strictest EU4 emission standard in Europe not applied by law to new cars until the year 2005. In Germany and Sweden this means that the lucky owner of a BMW 645Ci is able to register his car at a reduced rate of tax. And in the USA, finally, the 6 Series coupé complies with the LEV (Low Emission Vehicle) standard, again meeting the greatest demands. Equipped with catalytic converters close up to the engine, the exhaust system is made of long-life stainless steel welded at all connection points. Deep, rumbling sound bearing testimony to the power of the eight-cylinder.
The second purpose of the exhaust system with twin chambers from front to rear is to give the 645Ci its supreme V8 sound effect ensured by the two striking tailpipes. Hardly audible when idling, the engine builds up that throaty eight-cylinder rumble so typical of a large-capacity sports car power unit when revving up, without appearing pretentious in any way. Indeed, the car’s occupants will experience the engine as a healthy and deep sound clearly bearing testimony to the outstanding power and performance of the car and thus perfectly emphasizing the sporting, dynamic driving experience provided by the 645Ci.