The Six is back

The Six is back, packed with upgraded Techno-Babble associated with the Seven series.

BMW's 6 Series coupe is stuffed with so many fascinating technologies that it'd take a book to cover them properly. There's the expected: active cruise control, stability control, active roll stabilization, dynamic brake control, a head-up display, Bluetooth cell phone technology and even a simplified iDrive interface that has a menu button to rescue you whenever you're hopelessly lost in that vast menu-driven electronic jungle.

BMW has learned that quick steering ratios add fun to the package, perhaps a page torn from Mini’s success report.

Another iDrive system that reads like stereo instructions. Is it really needed to have fun? Then again, there is that switch clutter to worry about.

Not so expected, but equally intriguing, are the car's active headlights, which can swivel and point into a corner to better illuminate the area where the car is headed, and LED brake lights that intensify as brake pressure increases. Also noteworthy is the optional active steering, whose quick ratio slows considerably at 75 mph to enhance stability all the way to the car's limited top speed of 155 mph

It takes a powerful engine to propel a big 2+2 coupe to such speeds, and BMW's familiar 4.4-liter V-8 in the 2004 645Ci does so with ease. Burbly but smooth, this 4-cam aluminum-block V-8 employs steplessly variable intake and exhaust valve timing to pump out 325 bhp at 6100 rpm and 330 lb.-ft. of torque at 3600 rpm. Although the power doesn't make the 6 feel as hold-your-breath quick as, say, a Mercedes-Benz SL600, BMW says the 3781-lb. 645Ci hits 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, making it quicker than a Mercedes-Benz CLK 500.

When the 645Ci arrives in the U.S. in March/April, it will be priced at about $70,000, and be available with three gearboxes: a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic, both from ZF, and an SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox) version of the 6-speed manual shifted via paddles on the steering wheel. In a grand tourer such as this, the automatic isn't sacrilege; it's the smoothest offering, and still sporty because the driver can shift manually by nudging the gear lever. The 6-speed manual is more entertaining, but BMW has yet to make a V-8/manual combination work as harmoniously as its silken inline-6/manual designs.

As for the 645Ci with paddle-shift SMG, there are arguments in its favor — you'll never miss a shift; it shifts quicker than a human; it allows crisp no-lift upshifts; and you sound like Montoya with each automatic-blip downshift. Nevertheless, despite continued improvements, the shifts at small throttle openings, such as trundling about in city traffic, interrupt the car's forward momentum more than they should. Future M cars such as the M6 will likely be available exclusively with SMG because it has been deemed too difficult to shift 7-speed manual gearboxes (yes, they're on their way) with a conventional H-pattern shifter.

Beneath the skin, the unit-body 645Ci benefits from abundant aluminum — in its front and rear subframes, and in the front strut and multilink rear suspensions. The lightweight metal is also used in the hood and doors, although BMW chose to use plastics for the front fenders and trunklid. The trunk itself is cavernous, thanks in part to run-flat tires negating the need for a spare. A battery beneath the trunk helps give the car excellent 52/48 weight distribution.

As for the 645Ci's exterior styling — which melds some convex and concave surfaces with details from the Z4 and the 5 and 7 Series sedans — it polarizes people. One thing is certain: It commands attention, and its sculpted appearance looks better in person than in photos.

There's nothing controversial inside. Here, the look is elegant and handsome, with large analog gauges housed in a double-binnacle dash. The iDrive system frees the dashboard from switch clutter, and the thick-rimmed steering wheel is adjustable for reach and height. Leg room in back is almost nonexistent when the front seats are all the way rearward. So, BMW's new 645Ci is more of a personal luxury coupe than a people-carrying 2+2, and, laden with the latest technologies, it makes Interstate miles go by with ease. Yet when the road starts to twist, it reacts confidently with powerful brakes, quick steering, an almost eerie lack of body roll and an abundance of grip.

And on top of that, its structure is bank-vault solid. So good, in fact, that you might think BMW will build a convertible 6.