BMW 6 Series Convertible
The E24 BMW six of the seventies through the eighties was a pretty thing. Perhaps not as iconic as the 3.0 CSi it replaced, but pretty nevertheless. In the noughts we got the Bangled E63 six, which made quite a statement. That statement was never pretty. Interesting perhaps. Large, with presence and "flame lines." It was even very fast in M6 guise, all 373kW of it. More Thor's hammer than Zorro's sword fast however. While I was impressed (who wouldn't be?) I was not completely sold on it. It also drank its own bodyweight in fuel on a daily basis.
Enter the new 640i Convertible, and its big sister the 650i recently launched. The bigger one gets a V8 and sprints to 100 in 5 seconds flat. The six cylinder does it in a measly 5.7 seconds. Consider the M1 powered 635CSi did it in 6.2 for some perspective. The difference is that the 235Kw twin turbo 640i gets around 7.9l/100km (claimed but believable in real world testing) while the bigger one makes double figures and costs the price of a good family car more.R909 000 vs nearly R1,2 million! Both cars share the superb 8 speed auto box, that is for all intents and purposes about as slick and exact as a DSG box.
For two. Forget the back seat. There is almost no legroom. And you will need the space for your luggage, because unless the dirty weekend only requires a tog bag, the backseat is where your luggage is going. The excellently quiet folding roof is a greedy little bugger and needs the boot all for itself, up or down. It goes up and down at speeds of up to 40km/h in a decent 19 seconds. It is also able to be opened and closed with the key fob, on days when you need to impress standers by. The pop up rear glass is a clever bit of engineering. Independent of the roof structure it slides up and down from the body, able to be deployed roof down as a buffer.
The interior works well. Both ergonomically sound and a pleasant space to be in. Those back seats are a little on the useless side. But that is hardly the point of a fast convertible sports car. Leave the kids at home with this one.
The car is good looking. Powerful with a big presence, but no longer bloated looking. While the previous model was Elvis towards the end, this one is far more Elle McPherson. Graceful, even sexy lines, both roof up and roof down. It also comes more or less fully loaded with only a few very expensive options to choose from, like night vision, adaptive cruise control and even fancier leather and extra camera systems worth desiring.
