It would be misguided to suggest the world outside simply fades away behind the wheel of BMW's latest 6-Series Coupe. But when the rain is belting down and the fog closing in on a narrow strip of winding, bark-strewn bitumen in the mountains behind Brisbane, the realisation rapidly dawns that it's an extremely handy place to be.
Sure, there's a stonking twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 engine under the long bonnet to be mindful of. But unlike some performance-tuned coupes, it's surprisingly easy to moderate the throttle to such a degree that the driver can retain a confident and relaxed demeanour even under the significant duress of the bleak conditions outside.
Our 650i has such a firm purchase on the tarmac that it's even possible to progress beyond a grim determination to simply survive the appalling conditions, by shifting the Drive Dynamic Control selector from Comfort mode to Sport.
This brings firmer suspension and steering and even a small degree of latitude from the stability control, as well as sharper gearshifts from the excellent eight-speed auto to extract at least a modicum of driving enjoyment from a day better suited to ducks.
Sport-Plus mode, with its even harder edge and significantly smaller safety net will have to wait for another more appropriate day. We've similarly dismissed the polar-opposite Comfort-Plus mode as illogical on these twisting roads; its soft, wallowy settings are counter-productive to hauling the big coupe through a series of virtually grip-free hairpins.
BMW has replaced one 6-Series Coupe with two, although the cheaper 640i with its turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine wasn't offered for appraisal on the Australian media launch.
The 650i, meanwhile, is bigger than the model it replaces in almost every respect and consequently up to 120 kilograms heavier - due in part to an impressive 53 per cent more body strength, and in spite of the liberal use of aluminium body panels.
However, it is also more efficient than the model it replaces on paper, officially clocking 10.4 litres per 100km against a handy and symetrically pleasing 300 kilowatts of power and 600 Newton metres of torque.
In practice this quickly ballooned out to north of 14.0L/100km following a mix of urban running and some severely tempered enthusiasm on the aforementioned rain-sodden mountain passes.
That's unlikely to be a deal breaker for prospective owners, however, who likely won't bat an eyelid at the 650i's $232,300 price tag (before on-road and dealer costs are added).
Those imposing power and torque peaks are impressively accessible, with the two turbos nestled between the V8's cylinder banks ensuring every single Newton metre can storm into play from just 1750rpm. In theory that can translate to a 0-100km/h sprint of just 4.9 seconds - not that we were keen to tap all of that potential in the trying conditions presented.
A lovely exhaust note was muted inside the cabin while ever-present tyre roar from the run-flat tyres was not - the exact opposite of what we would prefer.
Still, those same run-flats offer an impressive level of compliance, even in the harder-edged Sport setting when only an occasional thump is felt and heard. After years of development, BMW and its tyre suppliers have finally succeeded in making the controversial technology a viable - if still noisy - tyre option across its luxurious range.
The electrically assisted power steering proved difficult to ultimately assess on sodden roads, and complicating matters further is the addition to our test cars of optional Active Steering, which can apply tiny directional inputs to the rear driving wheels to help with either low-speed manoeuvring or high-speed cornering.
However, selecting Sport mode adds noticeable weight to the steering and there's a welcome directness, albeit with some uneven weighting that's mainly noticeable navigating from one tight bend to another.
At such times you also become hyper-aware of the considerable weight of the V8 engine over the car's nose, even though it has been moved seven centimetres backwards compared to the model it replaces.
There's plenty to enjoy inside for the keen driver and their passenger, although we'd sternly counsel against any ambition to put the "2+2" coupe's back seat to any use other than minding small bags. Despite an additional 75mm being added to the wheelbase over the old model and the provision of two deep, well-padded pews, a critical lack of head- and legroom make this space unfit for human habitation.
There's also a few ergonomic oddities up front, with massive windscreen pillars obscuring forward vision in cornering and a driver's seat that sat slightly off-centre to the steering.
But there's plenty of consolation in the deep, comfortable and widely adjustable leather front seats plus a centre console that curves towards the driver, bringing all critical controls within easy reach. A new 10.2-inch sat-nav screen that uses flat panel technology is a suitable centrepiece with its crystal-clear display, although inputting a destination via the multi-level iDrive system can still be confounding in spite of many generations of development work.
Most attending the launch agreed the new 6-Series Coupe is a better-looking beast than the car it replaces with a more taut, crouching stance, assertive twin-kidney grille and a vastly improved rear-end design.
The two BMW 6-Series Coupes are on sale now, joining the previously-arrived convertible models.
They will be supplemented by the middle of next year by convertible and coupe versions of an even more performance-oriented M6 model featuring the same ballistic 412kW/680Nm V8 from the soon-to-arrive M5 sedan
Meanwhile, we'll keep an eye on the weather in the hope of finding a suitably sunny summer's day for an opportunity to revisit the 6-Series Coupes. And if it happens to rain, well ... it's not the end of the world. - smh.drive.com.au -
