Motoring: BMW M6 Coupe may be the world's most perfect car

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: BMW
The BMW M6 is one serious drivers car.

In the last eight months, I have been fortunate enough to test the new BMW M5 sedan and the M6 cabriolet, both of which proved that these new M-cars are performance forces that are setting new standards in their class.

However, the one I was missing was the M6 coupe, which is supposed to be the most hardcore of all these new M-models.

I was expecting that BMW might let me have a go in an M6 coupe sometime in the summer, when the weather will be most ideal for a 560hp super-coupe, but what happened next was quite surprising: BMW asked if I would like to spend a week in the M6 coupe, smack in the middle of a Canadian winter!

You see, the 2013 BMW M6 coupe can be classified as a supercar, and usually supercars are temperamental, fragile creatures that only work in a very specific weather and temperature environment. Winter and supercars usually don't mix, but obviously BMW is confident that the M6, wearing proper winter tires, can be used every day of the year.

I gladly took on the challenge (in the name of testing), to see how this super-coupe would handle the cold, frigid weather conditions, and also see what the rest of the car is like.

The week I had the car, I got some clear days, but the weather was mostly snowy, and at first I was skeptical as to how this beast would handle these slippery road conditions.

It didn't take me long to figure out that I had nothing to worry about. Thanks to BMW's excellent traction and stability control systems keeping a watchful eye over the road conditions and my inputs, the car kept on the road the whole time.

That doesn't mean it won't scare you every now and then. Squeeze the throttle a bit too hard and you can feel its winter tires struggling for grip. Even at highway speeds, drop a few cogs on its seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox (via its steering- wheel mounted paddle shifters), and it will light up its rear tires. Thankfully its electronic nannies will step in and save the day, but it just reminds you that its 500- lb/ft of torque going through just its rear wheels is enough to scare the living daylights out of you.

It certainly doesn't take long for this car to plant a huge smile on your face. Driving along, passing other motorists with ease, enjoying this car's wonderful (if not somewhat amplified) exhaust note, along with the lovely feedback you get from its steering wheel, and you will feel very content.

This new M6 coupe is a seriously satisfying car to drive. It might not have the raw edge of a midengined supercar, but it offers a more complete package, one that can be enjoyed on a day-to-day basis, even in winter, as proven in my week.

It also featured something one doesn't expect at all from a high horsepower coupe: fuel efficiency. In my week, it averaged 12.5 litres/100km, which is extremely good for a car that has a curb weight of 1,930kg and has a 4.4 litre, twin-scroll, twin-turbo charged V8 engine, which as mentioned before produces 560hp and 500lb/ft of torque. That is enough to take it from zero to 100km/h in just 4.2 seconds, and onto an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h.

So far, I have learned that the M6 coupe is a pleasure to drive, no matter the weather; it is really fast; and it is frugal, too. But how do I feel about the rest of the car?

From a styling point of view, I think it is a home run. I think the new M6 coupe is one of the prettiest coupes on the market. While some have called it too tame, I think it has the right amount of aggression about it. It is not the kind of car that shouts about its attendance, but those who know their cars will look and give you the approving nod.

It'll be quite hard to find anyone who won't like its interior. It is spacious (the M6 is a real 2+2 coupe, and even adults can fit in the back seats), well made and very well-equipped. Okay, the last bit will depend on how you spec your M6; my tester had $17,900 worth of options — you could buy a decent new car for the price of its options.

This truly is a businessman's express, able to transport you in style and comfort. Honestly, the seats in this M6 are among the best I have ever sat on. You can spend an entire day driving and not get tired (I speak from experience).

This car offers all the gadgets you'd ever wish for, including one I had never seen before: a special feature as part of its heads-up display. While most such systems tell you the speed you're travelling at, this one tells you what the speed limit is of the road you're currently on, and it was absolutely correct every single time. I tested it on a back road where the speed limit would fluctuate as you'd enter a town, and incredibly, the system got it right every single time. BMW knows that the M6 can lead to some heavy right-footed behaviour and a heads-up display that tells you the roads speed limit will only help keep you out of jail.

At this point, I should complain about something, just to balance things out a bit. The one thing I don't like about the new M6 coupe (this goes for the M6 cabriolet and the M5 sedan also), is that it has two settings for the M-mode (M1 and M2), both of which you can program to your liking. I wish there was only one button that would take the car to a default “M” setting, programmed by the experts at BMW (like in the current E93 M3). The new system makes things unnecessarily complicated. As you can see, I had to really nit-pick, because the rest of the car is perfect.

Perfection does come at a price, though. The base price for the 2013 BMW M6 coupe is $124,900. My tester was priced at $142,800. In other words, it's out of my price range, at least for now. If, however, you are in the market for a supercar that you can use every day, you won't be disappointed with this new M6.