Geneva Salon March 2005, premiere of the BMW M6 and 130i
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Day one with the BMW M6: pickup the car in Stockholm, Sweden
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Geneva Salon March 2005, premiere of the BMW M6 and 130i
Page One
out of three (1/3):
Day one with the BMW M6: pickup the car in Stockholm, Sweden
Go here for page
one,
two
or three.
 We picked p the BMW M6
in Silverstone II from BMW a Friday around lunchtime at BMW Stockholm,
Sweden. That day we did
not want to have a lot of traffic so we headed outside the city of
Stockholm, Sweden. The schedule was tight: meet up with exotics at the
Koenigsegg airfield 700 km south of Stockholm during the weekend and to
race several (15+)
cars to see what the M Power V-10 engine in a 6-series really can do.
Lower center of gravity and a lower weight (45 kg) than the M5 sounds
promising! Do not miss the that htere
is in total
three pages to this BMW M6 weekend report! We did a similar tour
with the BMW M5 in
May 2005, which you can read by clicking on the link and
picture below.
You can also see videos
from the event
here at this link.
 Stockholm, which is a city built on several (14) islands is of course dependant on bridges between the islands...   Of course, just before one o’clock a crane on a boat rammed
into one of the larger bridges, making the bridge unusable. This caused
several very long ques of traffic just the day we wanted to drive the
most with the BMW M6.
 During that time we noticed the momentanious consumption of the M6 was around 4 liters per 10 km... We also managed to synch a Nokia 6230i over Bluetooth. Phonebook was synched and incoming calls and outgoing calls where taken by the cars integrated handsfree system.  Notice the small car that indicates that the cell phone is connected to the hands free bluetooth.  We synched the phonebook as well. The only drawback with Bluetooth was that it consumed alot of batteries from the cell phone when connected, but this could be due to old firmware in the cellphone as well.  Notice the Oil level and the km standing when we start this trip. I would say the rev limiter was mostly between 12 clock and 4 clock during our trip...  We killed sometime while we were surrounded by ques to take some pictures of the BMW M6 next to scenic buildings in the inner centre of Stockholm. The light aloy wheels of the M6 are also forged, which they are not on the BMW M5. The BMW M6 wheels could also be a but lighter than the BMW M5 wheels. One of the first things we noticed when driving away from the BMW-dealership was the comfortable ride. With the EDC set to comfort, the ride is actually pretty smooth. Especially for a car of this calibre. It definately had a smoother ride than the 330Ci Convertible with M-sport package and 18” wheels we arrived in that my friend had.  Very graphical visual indication as well to the audio warnings for the Park Disctance Control (PDC) front and rear. They however seem to forgot the BMW M-specific mirrors...   On the other side is the southern part of Stockholm. We are now on Riddarholmen, a island next to Old Town (Gamla Stan).  The chassis and suspension of the M6 is of course based on the all-aluminum chassis of the standard BMW 6-series, but modified to handle the increase in power and performance. As the M5, the M6 also features the latest generation EDC-system. This system is impressive. As mentioned before the ride is comfortable with the EDC set to comfort, but switch the EDC to sport and the car transforms into something very different. The ride is suddenly very hard but the car feels extremely tight, which we noticed on the cobblestoned roads. The steering becomes more direct and body roll is almost undetectable in the corners. As good as the M5 is in this respect, the M6 is even better.  The M6 feels sharper and focused. And it also feels more tail-happy. This could be due to the colder weather present when we tested the M6 compared to the M5, but it felt like the M6 had less traction in rear.   If you do not agree with the
judges and the local court system in Sweden (Tingsrätt) you will
end up here (Hovrätt).
Hopefully we will only be seeing the exteriour of this building in the
future.
 So here we find a classic Italian Grand Turismo: the Maserati 3200 GT. The 4,2 liter V8 won't however have a chance versus the Bavarian 5-liter V-10 engine. Mr Italian Giorgietto Giugiaro have gone to another design school than American Christopher Bangle.    Here you can see how the carbon fibre roof is starting to get together with the rear window in a visual illusion. You will see more of that in the upcoming pictures. You immideatly noticed that you sat closer to the ground and lower than on the BMW M5. The M6 was also noticeably louder than the M5, especially from the exhaust. This is confirmed by the official BMW press release: "The exhaust system is designed consistently for minimum counterpressure, the dynamic gas flow is optimized for perfect power and torque. The exhaust system extends back to the silencers in two chambers, leading into the four striking tailpipes so typical of a BMW M Car. Compared to the M5, the sound of the exhaust on the M6 is even more muscular and aggressive." Engage P400 and de-activate the Sport button and you do not have such a sensitive car in city traffic. It should also be said that this car should be classified more as a sporty 2+2 Grand Turismo car, rather than true sportscar such as the Porsche 911. The M6 has more room, comfort and agility, but also the extra weight compared to true sportscars. Parked the BMW M6 besides the BMW M3
 The M6 has, as you may know by now, the same magnificent V10-engine as the M5. With a cylinder stroke of 75.2 millimetres and a cylinder bore of 92.0 millimetres, the displacement of the engine is 4999 ccm. The maximum output is 507 bhp at 7750 rpm which means the V10 produces more than 100 bhp/litre. It produces a maximum of 520 NM of torque at 6100 rpm. Even though the engine is really high-revving, 8250 rpm is maximum, it feels pretty strong at low revs too. At least 450 NM of torque is available from 3500 rpm. But it´s over 5500-6000 rpm the real fun begins. So all of you with cars still in run-in period, you are in for a real treat. It accelerates like crazy here. The character of this engine is very nice. Strong, stronger, strongest. All accompanied by a beautiful soundtrack. The M6 sounds a little bit more aggressive and louder than the M5. Especially at idle and lower revs. It fits the M6´s character perfectly.     The Old Town to the left and the National Museum to the right.   The final pictures from the city. Since we did not hade the luck to meet the King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustav when we offered him a demonstration of the new BMW M5 , we did not ask him this time. However I beleive he is happy with his current collection of a LeMans Blue BMW M5 E39 and a BMW M3 CSL. His son drives a Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S so he still have some learning to do... See below and click on the images or here to read about the story with the BMW M5. The King of
Sweden have "with interest taken part of your letter..." and "...have
decided to say no to the friendly offers."
"The Royal Palace On assignment from His Royal Highness the King I would like to thank you for your letter with a friendly offer to show a BMW M5 of 2005 model year and the offer of a honorary membership of m5board.com and bmwm5.com. The King, who with interest have taken part of your letter, have asked me to confrim via telephone that He have decided to say no to the friendly offers. Best regards" On the country
So we took the
BMW M6 as far as we could on the
bridges that that actually worked and drove on some tarmac roads. This
is
like going on snow in a BMW M6 without DSC (Dynamic Stability Control)
on.
A late autumn
afternoon in Stockholm, Sweden. It will
get dark before 6 oclock in the evening on a late Octboer day.
This is the
roof.
The black inserts on the exteriour mirrors on the BMW M6 and BMW M5. The inserts were inspired from racing where you put different colours on the rearview mirrors in order to differentiate your car and easier spot cars in your team. You often see team have bright colours on the exteriour mirrors, and of course black is the best colour for the M6 for this.
Again you see
how the carbon roof reflects well and
makes the impression that the roof is one part with the rear window.
Volvo 940, Nissan Almera, BMW
M6, Toyota Avensis, Skoda
Octavia and finally another BMW, a 5 series, Opel, Volvo V70 and then a
Volvo V40. One have over 200 HP... So we tried to take
different roads and even ferries around these queus around Stockholm
because of the damaged bridge but to no luck, we got stuck in the
ques
anyway. But during these hours of standing in ques we learned the
Bluetooth, and now also the TV-function which had digital terresterial
TV-reception in addition to the analogue reception.
We picked the correct
country and then the channels where autostored. When the channels where stored
the TV worked as it should when
parked stationary.
Red needles in the dials and
M-coloured stitching on the
steering wheel in true BMW M tradition. 330 km/h might not be enough on
an unlimited BMW M6...
Knowing we had a tight schedule ahead of us, we did a fast lunch at McDonalds and after our visit we discovered that the M6 cupholder was gone… Until we found it between the rear seats. The picture above is not how to use the storage compartements...
 On the pciture above we found out
how to use the correct mug holder!
The bumper supports front and rear are also made of carbon fibre reinforced plastics in a unique pro-cess developed by BMW and applied at the Landshut Plant. In this process unparalleled the world over, strips of carbon fibre reinforced plastics are woven layer-by-layer around a core, cast into resin and hardened before the core material is subsequently removed. The weight saving of 20 percent at the front and 40 percent at the rear where such a reduction in weight really counts significantly enhances the car’s agility and handling, providing higher speeds above all in bends.
The BMW M6
wheels also fit the BMW M5, as seen on a
m5board.com Member below:
  Since it was late October it was starting to get cold (around 5 degrees Celsius) and we noticed that the Continental tyres did have problems to get a grip at 1st, 2nd and 3rd so for the most of the time we chose S5 shift program with MDM active. It seems that on all tests Pirelli is the tyres of choise if you want to get good traction. It's getting dark
 We cannot take enough pictures of the roof of the BMW M6. The carbon roof was introduced on the low volume BMW M3 CSL and saves 4,5 kg on a critical placement on the car. Furthermore, this results in that the BMW M6 cannot have a sunroof.. The roof is made of several layers of carnon fibre which is preformated in dry state, then soaked in a resin transfer molding process and finally treated with a layer of clear topcoat. A further advantage provided by the carbon roof is the ability to use a particularly ligh and thin rear window.    The dials are known from the BMW M5. They look very good in the dark with the white rings illuminated in a beutiful way. The white Corona lights are switched on permanently. A unique feature is the engine speed band presented in the rev counter. The yellow pre-warning field and the red warning field limits the permissible range of engine speed as a function of the current engine oil temperature. The telltales, oil level indicator, mileage counters as well as the SMG display together with the gear and Drivelogic display come between the speedometer and rev counter. For the first time the engineers at BMW M GmbH have succeeded in ensuring very precise oil level indication by means of a new display instrument fea-turing an electronic control unit replacing the conventional oil dipstick. Whenever necessary, the driver is requested by an acoustic and optical signal to add engine oil.  This is an interesting feature both on the BMW M5 and BMW M6. The highest speed you can set on the "bling" is 334 km/h. Could this be becuase the actual top speed is without limiter on these cars actually is 334 km/h?  There is nothing like a BMW interiour at night...    The castle of Waxholm, just outside Stockholm was used hundreds of years ago to protect the waterways into the city of Stockholm.  Not that suprisingly the BMW M6 also consumed a fair amount of fuel. Of course we wanted to fuel up with the best there is, Shell V-Power for max power.  We didn't have the luck to meet up with any Italian sportscars during our trip, which was lucky for them...  Heading for the south
of Sweden
 Here we drive from Stockholm to the South of Sweden where I have a summerplace. Saturday in southern
Sweden
 Here we're idling the M6 in the early morning hour when the sun sits low.  Behind the trees in the distance you will find water and the Baltic sea with Swedens south-eastern border. The BMW 6-series have a distinctive design.   The same summeplace below in year 2000 with a M3 3,2 Limousine (1996 model with 321 HP) and one M5 E39 (2000 model year with 400 HP). Then we had considerably worse weather (and considerable worse performing digital camera!).  I thought it was difficult to keep speedlimits around Stockholm, but on the country of southern Sweden where you have excellent visibility and it is almost completely flat with a few hills and virtually no traffic it is impossible not to break the speedlimits. Photographing the car
near the Öresundsbridge
 Here we have the
bridge between Sweden's Malmö and Denmark's Copenhagen. One of the
longest bridges in the world with it's 16 0000 m length. The two pylons
in the background are 204 m high.
   Notice the cross drilled front and rear brakes. Brake disc dimensions are 374 x 36 millimeters (14.72 x 1.42´´) at the front and 370 x 24 millimeters (14.57 x 0.94´´) at the rear. Diagnostic system measuring brake pad wear, which we will soon discover... Determining brake pad wear at specific measuring points, a sensor trans-mits the data monitored to the DSC control unit. Then, as a function of the driver’s style of motoring, the system determines the current state of the brake pads and forecasts the remaining mileage until the brake pads have to be replaced. The front tires measure 255/40 ZR 19, the rear tires are 285/35 ZR 19.   Yes, we just
washed the car and yes we have fog inside the front headlights...
  The supply and extraction of cooling air is always a challenge when producign alot of energy, above all with a car of this caliber. The BMW M6 comes with an all-new cooling and air supply package featuring a high-performance fan, engine radiator, a/c capacitor, power steering fluid cooler and engine oil cooler all positioned directly behind the car’s front air dam. For reasons of the car’s package, in turn, the engine oil cooler is fitted at an angle in front of the radiator and the radiator itself is split up into two sections. The large air openings in the front air dam for cooling and intake air are as on the BMW M5 clearly present. The side openings to the left and right of the large cen-tral air scoop, in turn, ensure efficient intake of secondary air flowing to the engine of the BMW M6. On the BMW M5 this have caused elimination of the front foglights.   Leaving for
Helsingborg
 Leaving the
Öresundsregion...
Killing time in
the BMW M6: watching Kiefer Sutherland
and "24". First time I saw it
and it was OK, even on an I-drive ;-) Sound quality for TV was over
acceptable as well. After sitting on the same parkingspot for an hour a
unmarked police comes up to us with the car, and we spot his uniform.
Im sure he didn't know we we were watching TV, but he seemd not to be
annoyed with us.  At the evening we are getting alot of attention at the local meetingplace for the streetracers and a few fast and the furious crowd. No fun car to race, but we gave a few people a ride as passengers which they enjoyed a lot. Alot of questions about the engine and of the car was de-limited. The interest was very high for the car, no doubt!  In Helsingborg we had a short short race with a Mercedes E55 AMG Kompressor (476 hk). Since it was cold outside and I had the MDM (M Dynamic Mode) active as well as Continental tyres it engaged when I floored it and for some reason the the E55 driver didnt experience the same so his power wasn't limited as much as the M6, so he was ahead durign the short 2-3 second race. too bad he didnt want to stop and talk with us.  Fueling up several times per day.  And always V-Power fpr maximum power.  The car has just as the M5 Bi-Xenon headlights. Above is full beam, and the M Mode is active on the heads up display (HUD).  The optional Head-Up Display (HUD) presents important driving information directly in the driver’s line of vision. HUD allows the driver himself at the touch of a button to choose either the standard display or specific M information. The M-specific display highlights the dynamic engine speed band, which, with its Shift-Light function, tells the driver when he has reached the optimum point for shifting gears. This function is carried over from Formula1 and is supplemented by a clear indication of the gear currently engaged as the well as the car’s road speed. This was page one. Go here for Page 2.Go here for page
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