Stumble It!
500 horses harnessed and ready to go
Over the years I have been lucky enough
to drive some exotic machinery. But I'm pretty sure that the most
powerful car I have ever driven is my most recent test. The Ferrari
Testarossa, back in 1980s seemed quite awesome at the time. But, at
390 bhp, its power output was only a little more than a present-day
top-of-the-range BMW X5.
Closest has to be the mighty American muscle of the eight-litre Dodge Viper, in which I thundered round the Knockhill race circuit. These days the Viper's power output has been raised to 500 bhp, but in 2000 it put out a 'mere' 400 bhp.
Unless you really know your cars, you probably wouldn't guess that the BMW M6 packed quite so much punch. It doesn't look like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Viper. Indeed, there are only a few telltale details to give the game away. There's the beefier wheel arches, the slightly more purposeful spoilers and those impressive alloy wheels. You might even spot that the roof is made of lightweight carbon fibre to lower the centre of gravity.
Under that long, sleek bonnet, however, is a five-litre V 10 engine, which will produce up to 507 bhp. That prodigious power is delivered to the rear wheels through a seven-speed gearbox.
You might not recognise this as a 500 bhp supercar, unless you look closely
I seem to have a way of getting cars at the wrong time. My only ever Porsche road test coincided with a deluge of snow which left the supercar sitting, forlornly, becoming an ice sculpture on our driveway. The BMW M6 arrived in the midst of a winter monsoon.
Wet roads with standing puddles are not the ideal conditions to make your first acquaintance with 500 horses. However, I should not have worried. The BMW M6 feels extremely surefooted and there is, as expected, a dynamic stability control system to help you keep the stallions under control.
Indeed the driver is faced with an almost bewildering array of technical options. You can select one of three power outputs - 400 bhp, 500 bhp and 500 sport. You can choose your gearbox modes and can set up the suspension for firm sports settings or softer for comfort.
Once you have chosen your options life is as simple as pressing a button on the steering wheel. When the 'M' button wasn't pressed I had the M6 set up in relaxed mode with 'only' 400 bhp, softer suspension and automatic mode, which occasionally proved surprisingly slow in changing gears. Press the button, however, and it switches immediately to your chosen sports mode. You instantly feel the car sharpen up with sports suspension, 500 sports horses and gearchange by Formula One-style paddles behind the steering wheel.
In this mode the power is quite breathtaking. Acceleration from 0-62 mph takes just 4.6 seconds. You certainly need to keep your attention on the road. Helping with this is the aircraft-style,'head-up' display which projects the speedometer, warnings and in sports mode the rev counter onto the windscreen just below the driver's line of sight.
Taking the car home along the motorway, you could feel that the M6 longs for de-restricted German autobahns. At 70 mph it feels as though it is just ticking over and, indeed, BMW says it is capable of over 200 mph without the electronic limiter.
Out on the soaking wet side roads, I was aware that there was enough power under my right foot to have the car spinning backwards through the nearest hedge were it not for the various electronic driver aids.
However, the M6 never felt the slightest bit nervous. Perhaps because it was driving so much within its capabilities it felt utterly surefooted, with precise steering and extremely powerful, but progressive, brakes.
I found myself dreaming of driving across Europe, along the autobahns of Germany, through Austria and the Brenner Pass and On to Italy. It's on that sort of drive that this car would come into its own. I could imagine arriving in Modena, Florence or Pisa and stepping out of this car, relaxed and comfortable after an 1,800-mile journey
But the heavy rain spattering on the windscreen and the grey leaden sky brought me back to reality. The M6 is, after all, a practical supercar with room for four and a boot to match.
At £80,755 on the road, it is quite possible that you might just have a villa in Spain or a yacht on the Med that would make this the ideal combination of practical and comfortable transport.
Closest has to be the mighty American muscle of the eight-litre Dodge Viper, in which I thundered round the Knockhill race circuit. These days the Viper's power output has been raised to 500 bhp, but in 2000 it put out a 'mere' 400 bhp.
Unless you really know your cars, you probably wouldn't guess that the BMW M6 packed quite so much punch. It doesn't look like a Ferrari, a Porsche or a Viper. Indeed, there are only a few telltale details to give the game away. There's the beefier wheel arches, the slightly more purposeful spoilers and those impressive alloy wheels. You might even spot that the roof is made of lightweight carbon fibre to lower the centre of gravity.
Under that long, sleek bonnet, however, is a five-litre V 10 engine, which will produce up to 507 bhp. That prodigious power is delivered to the rear wheels through a seven-speed gearbox.
You might not recognise this as a 500 bhp supercar, unless you look closely
I seem to have a way of getting cars at the wrong time. My only ever Porsche road test coincided with a deluge of snow which left the supercar sitting, forlornly, becoming an ice sculpture on our driveway. The BMW M6 arrived in the midst of a winter monsoon.
Wet roads with standing puddles are not the ideal conditions to make your first acquaintance with 500 horses. However, I should not have worried. The BMW M6 feels extremely surefooted and there is, as expected, a dynamic stability control system to help you keep the stallions under control.
Indeed the driver is faced with an almost bewildering array of technical options. You can select one of three power outputs - 400 bhp, 500 bhp and 500 sport. You can choose your gearbox modes and can set up the suspension for firm sports settings or softer for comfort.
Once you have chosen your options life is as simple as pressing a button on the steering wheel. When the 'M' button wasn't pressed I had the M6 set up in relaxed mode with 'only' 400 bhp, softer suspension and automatic mode, which occasionally proved surprisingly slow in changing gears. Press the button, however, and it switches immediately to your chosen sports mode. You instantly feel the car sharpen up with sports suspension, 500 sports horses and gearchange by Formula One-style paddles behind the steering wheel.
In this mode the power is quite breathtaking. Acceleration from 0-62 mph takes just 4.6 seconds. You certainly need to keep your attention on the road. Helping with this is the aircraft-style,'head-up' display which projects the speedometer, warnings and in sports mode the rev counter onto the windscreen just below the driver's line of sight.
Taking the car home along the motorway, you could feel that the M6 longs for de-restricted German autobahns. At 70 mph it feels as though it is just ticking over and, indeed, BMW says it is capable of over 200 mph without the electronic limiter.
Out on the soaking wet side roads, I was aware that there was enough power under my right foot to have the car spinning backwards through the nearest hedge were it not for the various electronic driver aids.
However, the M6 never felt the slightest bit nervous. Perhaps because it was driving so much within its capabilities it felt utterly surefooted, with precise steering and extremely powerful, but progressive, brakes.
I found myself dreaming of driving across Europe, along the autobahns of Germany, through Austria and the Brenner Pass and On to Italy. It's on that sort of drive that this car would come into its own. I could imagine arriving in Modena, Florence or Pisa and stepping out of this car, relaxed and comfortable after an 1,800-mile journey
But the heavy rain spattering on the windscreen and the grey leaden sky brought me back to reality. The M6 is, after all, a practical supercar with room for four and a boot to match.
At £80,755 on the road, it is quite possible that you might just have a villa in Spain or a yacht on the Med that would make this the ideal combination of practical and comfortable transport.
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