BMW’s M6 four-door coupe is meant to be shown off, but hides one thing incredibly well.
Cars like the BMW M6 Gran Coupe are all about the surface, the obvious, the things you can see and feel. It looks sleek whether it’s in an office parking garage or in the valet zone of a pricey steakhouse. The leather is soft to the touch, and the controls have a crisp, high-quality feel to them. After all, you shouldn’t have to work to experience the highlights and luxuries of a car that costs $120,000. The hardest part of enjoying it should be earning that kind of money in the first place, not indulging in its fineries.
In the video above, The Smoking Tire‘s Matt Farah certainly has no problem enjoying the 2018 BMW M6 Gran Coupe on the winding roads of Southern California. He relaxes in the large, heavy four-door version of a coupe version of the M5 sedan (the logic sounds strange, but it holds up) while charging through bends. Shifts from the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox are quick. The carbon ceramic brakes are massive and effective, although the sounds entering the cabin leave something to be desired.
Speaking of quick, that’s just what the M6 Gran Coupe is. Even though it doesn’t match the newest M5’s 600 horsepower, its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 still cranks out a stout 560 horsepower. That’s when the M6 Gran Coupe’s dubiousness becomes apparent. As you would expect, Farah finds the M6 powerful and quick. He’s also able to detect how well it masks speed. For a car that’s all about the surface of things, it sure does like keeping a secret. Ain’t that “Gran?” Good thing Farah is able to deduce what that secret is.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
