Unofficial BMW

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Thursday, October 16, 2003

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                                        <font color="#000000" face="verdana" size="2"><b>
                                        AUTO SPIES
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                                <font color="#000000" face="verdana" size="2"><b>
                                
                                        VOLUME 2

ISSUE 38

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SEARCH AUTO SPIES

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CONTENTS

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Updated: Auto Spies Premium Showcase Car Classifieds

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Don't buy a car without these! Three essential services for our readers

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Limited amount of Porsche Turbo Coupes for 2004

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Lots of hidden dealer rebates available to new car buyers

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911 killer still on track?

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Auto Spies World Exclusive: Hot scoop on next generation S-Class

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Auto Spies World Exclusive: Next generation Rolls, Bentley, and Maybach

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Next generation Infiniti user interface photos?

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What cities are the worst for auto theft?

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Next generation NSX photos?

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Full 2004 BMW 5-series manual

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7-series early refresh re-confirmed

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First real photos of the upcoming Infiniti QX56

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BMW security snaps photo of the Auto Spies in our secret headquarters!

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Spy photos of 7-series refresh

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Calling all present BMW and Mercedes owners -Major publication working on buyback story

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What 2004 car is already sold out?

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The New BMW 6-series- Part one

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The New BMW 6-series- Part two

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The New BMW 6-series- Part three- Photos

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New BMW M5 photos-interior shots

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The new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

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New Mercedes-Benz concept debuts in Tokyo

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Extra Hot! First real picture of 2005 Lexus GS430

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                        The New BMW 6-series- Part two
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The full details

<A PropertyType=A" target=_blank><IMG height=330 src="http://a298.g.akamai.net/7/298/5382/101803131350/www.eletra.com/autospies/word_images/4707911_image002.jpg" width=461></A> email: <A href="mailto:Robert.wolf_at_era.com">Robert.wolf_at_era.com</A> <DIV> </DIV>

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Part II: The New BMW 645Ci – In Depth

Bodyshell:

Intelligent Lightweight Construction for a New Dimension of Dynamic Motoring

To be really dynamic, a
modern car requires not only a powerful engine and an excellent chassis, but also lightweight components reducing weight to a minimum. The name of the game, therefore, is intelligent lightweight technology also on the body of the car, “intelligent” meaning that lightweight components serve not only to reduce weight, but also to enhance the various functions of the vehicle.

An intelligent mix of
materials saving weight and enhancing crash safety. The key concept on the body of the car is to use the right mix or combination of materials. Precisely this is why the bodyshell is a combination of steel, aluminium and plastic components offering huge advantages in terms of weight reduction. And at the same time the body of the car is stiffer and firmer than ever before, serving to enhance crash safety and providing even more precise dynamic driving characteristics.

The Weight-Reduced
Aluminium Front (WRAF) is a good example of intelligent lightweight construction. Weighing approximately 45 kilos or 99 lb, this entire module is about 20 per cent lighter than a conventional steel structure of the same kind.

Building the new 6
Series, BMW is also entering new terrain in the use of aluminium: The spring supports housing the front axle springs and dampers are made of a pressure-cast aluminium alloy composed mainly of aluminium and small amounts of magnesium, silicon and manganese. This alloy combines superior strength and stiffness with strong resistance to any change in shape. The two doors are also made of aluminium, saving approximately 10 kilos on the car but nevertheless outperforming all of BMW’s internal stiffness and safety requirements.

Front lid in new bonding
technology. 
The front lid is also made of aluminium and at the same time incorporates a world-first achievement currently only available from BMW: The inner and outer panels forming the lid are joined not by a single-component glue, but rather by a two-component glue bond allowing the use of thinner aluminium panels reducing the overall weight of the front lid by 9 per cent. A further advantage is that this two-component bond makes the front lid extremely stiff, which minimises wind noise in the process.

The two front side
panels made of thermoplastic save approximately 4 kilos in contributing to the excellent driving dynamics of the new 6 Series. And an equally important point is that the use of such a sophisticated synthetic material enables the designers to consistently continue the line of BMW’s large coupé throughout the side panel area, since it would not have been possible with a conventional steel structure to integrate the side trim into the side panels in the same way. A further advantage is that thermoplastic, being a regenerating synthetic material, is less sensitive than steel to minor bumps. And last but not least, this special material provides a better potential in meeting pedestrian safety requirements to be expected in future, yet a further point being that it is absolutely rustproof in the interest of a long service life.

SMC plastics saving
weight and providing new design options. SMC, a special synthetic material used on the rear lid of the BMW 6 Series Coupé, also offers a wide range of benefits. This duroplastic material referred to in technical terms as a sheet moulding compound is approximately 25 per cent lighter than steel and offers far greater freedom in design, allowing the outer skin of the rear lid to be made of one single piece even integrating the rear spoiler and aerials.

Tailored rolled blanks
to keep body panels as slim as possible. Last but certainly not least, a new process used on the rolled components also saves a lot of weight on the 6 Series: Tailored rolled blanks, that is panels rolled in a dynamic process, come in exactly the right thickness at all crucial points. This means that they do not require any additional reinforcements at highly exposed points, but are rather tailored to specific requirements and are made thicker only where really necessary.

This process is now
being used in a BMW model series for the first time on the transverse and longitudinal seat supports and on the heel crossbars, not only saving weight, but also enhancing the car’s safety above all on the crossbar elements.

Innovative production
methods allowing an intelligent mix of metals. Innovative production methods are required to provide the right combination of materials on the body of the car. A special insulating glue, for example, had to be developed for bonding steel and aluminium and is applied over a distance of approximately 60 metres or almost 200 feet on the 6 Series. Then there are approximately 4,000 welding points and almost 70 bolted connections. Depending on load conditions and the material involved, other joining technologies applied on the new 6 Series Coupé are MAG welding (MAG = a reactabale protective gas), MIG soldering (MIG = an inert protective gas), laser-soldering and welding, beading, riveting, sublining, sealing, clinching, and clipping. Overall, the body of the 6 Series is made up of almost 500 steel and aluminium components and weighs less than 350 kg or 770 lb together with all attachments and add-on parts.

Part II: The New BMW 645Ci – In Depth

Equipment:

Assistance Systems for Driving Dynamics, Motoring Comfort, and Superior Safety

“Only the best is – just
– good enough.” This demanding claim applies in particular to the equipment and features of the BMW 645Ci. And this means not only features concealed within the body of the car such as suspension assistance systems, but also the visible and invisible “helpers” within the interior.

Adaptive Headlights
turning night into day. 
Good light inside and outside the car is crucial to the occupants’ well-being and safety on the road – which is precisely why the Adaptive Headlights developed by BMW are available as an option also in the 6 Series, bi-xenon fixed-position headlights coming as standard.

Adaptive Headlights
improve illumination of the road ahead by up to 90 per cent, thus making a significant contribution to extra safety on the road. The headlight units are swivelled in their position as a function of the steering wheel angle, the yaw rate and road speed. They are activated as soon as the car starts moving.

With the car at a
standstill and with the wheels turned to the left (or, on right-hand drive cars, to the right) the Adaptive Headlights are required by law to face straight ahead in order not to dazzle oncoming traffic. A standard feature of Adaptive Headlights is dynamic headlight range control compensating any differences in load conditions and vehicle weight. A headlight cleaning system comes as standard.

Dynamic brake lights
helping to avoid bumper-to-bumper collisions. Tail and brake lights in LED technology also serve to improve safety on the road. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are not just brighter than conventional bulbs, but also react more quickly and live much longer.

A further feature of the
new BMW 6 Series is BMW’s innovative adaptive brake lights (Brake Force Display) enlarging the area covered by the brake lights as a function of brake force application. This clearly shows other motorists following from behind how hard the driver of the 6 Series is applying the brakes, reducing the risk of rear-end accidents accordingly.

Interior illumination: a
superior lights concept providing a wonderful experience in space. Featuring a special interior illumination concept, the new BMW 6 Series offers occupants pleasant and harmonious illumination and helps to enhance the feeling of safety and space inside the car when driving at night.

The primary objective of
this concept is to provide homogeneous interior illumination of the highest standard, meaning that all light units should allow ergonomic control without any dazzling effect in the interior. Free-area reflectors like on the new 7 Series ensure very homogeneous illumination of all working areas inside the car.

Even in standard trim,
the new 6 Series comprises a wide range of different lights, including a reading lamp with two LEDs above the centre console. With dazzle-free light being provided by the free-area reflectors, the illumination effect provided is very homogeneous in creating a genuine ambience. This light is supplemented by two footwell lights adding an extra touch of style and sophistication.

The additional lights
package available as an option comprises, interalia, light-emitting diodes in the door closing handles and on the door panels. In combination with the interior reading light and footwell illumination, these lights significantly enhance the feeling of space and, accordingly, the occupants’ well-being. Illuminated entry strips in the door cut-outs are also available as an option, providing a harmonious lighting effect to perfectly accentuate the exclusivity of the new 6 Series.

Yet another feature in
this special package is illumination of the outside area around the car’s doors with six light-emitting diodes on the bottom of the exterior mirrors. As soon as the driver unlocks the car by remote control, the LEDs illuminate the entry area in front of the doors for about 20 seconds. And again by remote control, the driver is also able to switch on the outside illumination when getting out of the car.

iDrive: the ultimate in
ergonomics. 
Introducing iDrive, BMW has created a control philosophy leading to a new dimension in automotive ergonomics. In a nutshell, iDrive allows the motorist to intuitively operate a whole range of secondary functions while hardly taking his eyes off the traffic around him.

Most functions crucial
to motoring are arranged directly on or around the steering wheel, nearly all basic comfort functions are housed in the centre console. The driver and front passenger are thus able to operate all other services, settings and functions intuitively by means of the Controller and Control Display without even looking, the latter being a 6.5-inch colour display with 8-bit colour resolution featured as standard.

The Control Centre as a
whole thus integrates a complete range of functions, avoiding the confusion of a large number of individual switches and control units on the dashboard.

The Control Display:
transflective technology providing a brilliant picture at all times. This new generation of display units is equipped with transflective technology reflecting daylight – which makes other displays unclear or even illegible on the surface – at the back of the display. This passive reflection including and incorporating the daylight effect helps to make the display even clearer and more brilliant. Under poor light conditions or in the dark, clarity is ensured by the transmissive background illumination with brightness adjusted by a sensor to current light conditions (or manually by the driver or front passenger, as required). And last but not least, the display comes with a heater in order to reach the optimum operating temperature as quickly as possible even with extreme temperatures outside.

The main menu presented on
the display is split up into four areas: Communications, Navigation or On-Board Information, Entertainment, and Climate Control. Pressing the Controller in the main menu, the driver or front passenger can access the fifth area, that is Information comprising sound and display settings, vehicle settings and maintenance messages.

Controller: a wide range
of functions in one hand. 
Within these areas, the driver or front passenger is able to select and operate various functions on various levels by means of the Controller. Positioned conveniently at the front end of the armrest, the Controller fits perfectly into the driver’s hand, the driver operating the multi-function button with his fingers while resting his arm on the armrest. Pushing the Controller in the four directions of the compass (Low Controller with 24 rest points), the driver is able to change from one area to the other or adjust the focus within one menu.

Turning the Controller,
the driver is able to navigate within the menu, pressing the Controller to select and confirm the menu point currently marked by the cursor. Pressing a button behind the Controller, finally, the user can access the main menu directly for extra convenience.

A Controller with
variable surface touch moving in 8 directions is available as an option. The variable touch effect gives the user an even better feeling for the specific operation being carried out. To provide the desired effect, the Controller comes with an electric motor generating a certain turning force or resistance, rotary motion of the Controller being detected by an optical sensor with the software dynamically calculating the new torque value to be built up by the motor in response to even the smallest change of the Controller’s angle. The additional diagonal positions in setting the Controller allow the user to navigate in the Professional navigation system map, a button on the Controller serving to activate the voice entry function integrated in the system. This High Controller comes with an 8.8-inch colour display featuring 256 colours, 16-bit colour resolution, and an image resolution of 640 x 240 pixels.

Making a clear
statement: new voice entry for even easier control. The voice entry function available as an option on the 6 Series opens up an entirely new dimension in iDrive control – the voice dimension. Hence, this technology now goes much further than former voice input systems.

Voice entry features a
precise and reliable speaker-oriented user interface (UI), offers a much larger range of speech dialogues, and comes with many other enhanced functions. The new Text-to-Speech Engine function, for example, is able to read out texts such as e-mails, short messages or the names of radio stations to the driver.

Another new feature is
the interaction of graphics and speech: Previously separated from one another, these two functions have now been combined, the display, via voice entry, showing the operating mode and menu item currently chosen.

Even the navigation
system follows your voice. 
Voice entry is able, conversely, to activate everything presented on the display. The name of this function, accordingly, is “You can speak out what you see”, the function enabling the user through short-cut terms to go into even greater detail either in the menu selected or in other menus. Previously the user had to do this by hand through the Controller.

Use of the telephone has
also been greatly facilitated, the driver now only being required, after activating the telephone menu, to speak out the name of the person he wishes to call and the appropriate number will be dialled automatically.

This new voice entry and
output system is able to control and mastermind nearly all functions and operations on the Control Display: the telephone, telephone directory, address database, SMS, BMW Assist, BMW Online, navigation, notebook, radio, CD/DVD/MP3, and the automatic air conditioning.

In an nutshell,
therefore, this comprehensive but easy-to-use technology supports the driver without distracting him from the road and traffic conditions.

Head-Up Display
enhancing the iDrive concept. The innovative Head-Up Display, another important enhancement of the iDrive concept, also makes an important contribution to active safety and superior motoring comfort by presenting important information directly in the driver’s line of vision. The driver is therefore able to take up this information without even taking his eyes off the road, information to be presented in this way being selected via the Control Display and the Controller from a specific list of items and thus serving to meet the driver’s individual requirements. Personal settings such as the brightness of the instruments are memorised by the Key Memory, the Head-Up Display being able to present navigation messages and information on the car’s active cruise control, warnings from the Check/Control, and your current road speed (this latter item being the only information permanently presented by the Head-Up Display when activated).

Important information
always where you need it. 
The virtual picture presented by the Head-Up Display is generated by a projector integrated in the instrument panel and transmitting the image on to a special windscreen, where from the perspective of the driver it appears roughly at the end of the engine compartment lid. Benefitting from this very ergonomic position of the image, the driver is able to concentrate on road traffic, not looking down at the cockpit unless absolutely necessary, and not suffering any problems in adjusting his eyes when changing his perspective from the road ahead to the instruments and vice versa.

To provide a clear,
easy-to-read image even under changing light conditions, the rain/light sensor controls the brightness of the image presented. Even a wet road or complete darkness will not reduce the quality of the image, since it adjusts to surrounding conditions at all times. You switch on the Head-Up Display by means of the lights switch centre.

Part II: The New BMW 645Ci – In Depth

Equipment (cont.)

Leather sports steering
wheel with multifunction buttons. Reflecting the sporting orientation of BMW’s large coupé, the leather sports steering wheel comes as a standard feature not only offering the driver good handling at all times, but also, through its integrated function keys, ensuring maximum safety on the road, since the driver is able to operate a wide range of functions without even taking his hands off the steering wheel. And since the paddles for the optional Sequential Manual Gearbox (SMG) are also integrated in the steering wheel, the driver can even shift gears quickly and efficiently at the touch of a finger.

The BMW driver will get
used to adjusting the radio or CD, making a telephone call, etc straight from the steering wheel very quickly indeed, just as he will quickly learn to enjoy the advantages of entering iDrive functions through voice commands. And the driver is even able to select additional functions on the steering wheel controlled by two “open” buttons, opting, say, for permanent activation of ambient air recirculation.

ACC Active Cruise
Control. 
Available as an option, ACC Active Cruise Control helps the driver maintain a specific distance and road speed geared to current requirements. The system thus not only maintains the speed selected in advance, but also adjusts your distance from the vehicle ahead to the current situation.

Assuming you are following
a vehicle travelling at a lower speed, ACC, incorporating a radar distance sensor, will detect the vehicle ahead, depending on weather conditions, at a distance of 120 metres, then automatically adjusting your own speed accordingly. To provide this adjustment, ACC applies the brakes slightly for extra motoring comfort, then maintaining one of four specific distances chosen by the driver in advance. The driver himself is able to intervene in this control function at any time either by giving gas or applying the brakes, since according to BMW’s philosophy he remains exclusively responsible for ongoing driving conditions.

Precisely this is why ACC
immediately warns the driver through both a visual and an acoustic signal whenever he is required to apply the brakes harder in a specific situation.

ACC works between 30 and
180 km/h (20 and 112 mph) and can be set by the driver individually to convenient 10 km/h increments. The speed set in this way is presented by a mark in the speedometer and consistently maintained as long as there is no vehicle ahead requiring the driver to slow down.

Offering these benefits,
ACC relieves the driver of the routine chore of constantly adjusting his speed and the distance from the vehicle ahead in a rather monotonous process. This, clearly, is particularly practical and convenient in dense traffic on the motorway and expressways with a constant change in road speed often demanding too much of conventional cruise control. So that now, benefitting from ACC, the driver can “float” along with the traffic in superior, relaxed style.

Parking with ultrasound.
 
Available as an option, PDC Park Distance Control uses ultrasound distance measurement to greatly facilitate the process of parking in the BMW 6 Series. Initially presenting a graphic, subsequently also an acoustic signal, PDC warns the driver of obstacles in front of and behind the car, starting to present a signal when an obstacle is 1.5 metres away at the front and 2.0 metres away at the rear. The graphic display presents the car from above, obstacles recognised being shown by colour dots at the appropriate point within the area covered, thus allowing the driver to locate the obstacle precisely and with maximum convenience.

Automatic air
conditioning featured as standard and setting a new benchmark. How pleasant you feel in your car depends largely on the climate within the interior. And this is precisely why the BMW 6 Series gives particular attention to the occupants’ climate wishes and preferences, the automatic air conditioning developed for the 6 Series setting a new standard in the coupé segment in terms of performance and individual control. In particular, the automatic air conditioning, compared with conventional systems, heats up and cools down the passenger compartment much faster, offering individual adjustment of air distribution, evaporation temperature varied according to specific demands to prevent both excessive cooling and the risk of your mucous membranes drying out, as well as simple control reduced to just a few important functions and buttons.

Again applying BMW’s iDrive
control philosophy, the basic functions of the automatic air conditioning – ventilation, heating and cooling, temperature left/right – are controlled directly by keys and switches in the instrument panel, with detailed adjustments then being made via the Control Display.

Automatic air conditioning
controls the car’s temperature, air volume and distribution automatically for the left- and right-hand side. Temperature stratification important for the individual adjustment of upper body temperature, as well as the temperature and air volume coming out of the central vent in the instrument panel, may be varied infinitely via the Controller and the Control Display. A bi-directional solar sensor measures sun radiation for this purpose from inside and controls the flow of cooling air accordingly.

To make sure that the
windows do not mist over, an anti-misting sensor monitors the temperature of the windows and the air. If necessary, this sensor acts in several levels and at several points without in the first stages impairing the climate inside the passenger compartment. As an example, it will switch from air recirculation to exterior air, then increasing the air flow as the next step before cooling the air to a lower temperature in order to achieve the dehumidifying effect desired.

Fully controlled air
humidity providing a better climate inside. A feature particularly pleasant for the car’s occupants is the efficient control of the evaporator temperature avoiding the risk of your mucous membranes cooling down and drying out: So far the air to be cooled was always cooled down to approximately 1–3 °C, a lot of humidity being withdrawn from the air in the process. Then this extremely dry air was warmed up again to the temperature desired.

Now the new BMW 6 Series
Coupé features a sensor monitoring air temperature and providing only the cooling effect required. Enlarging the cooling range to 1–10 °C, air humidity remains at a higher level and thus provides far more pleasant conditions for your mucous membranes. A further advantage of this improvement in motoring comfort is a reduction of fuel consumption certainly worth mentioning.

A residual heat function
pumping coolant through the heat exchanger even when the engine is not running feeds warm air into the interior. Auxiliary ventilation, finally, feeds outside air into the passenger compartment via the automatic air condition even when the engine is not running. In this process, the air is cleaned by an activated carbon filter largely holding back all dust and pollutants. And as soon as the gas sensors determine an excessive concentration of pollutants in the outside air, AAR Automatic Air Recirculation will switch to the recirculating mode.

Climate comfort glass
cooling down the interior without consuming any energy. Available as an option, climate comfort glass supplements the automatic air conditioning most appropriately. This infra-red-reflecting (IR) glass keeps the air inside the passenger compartment of a parked car approximately 5 °C cooler than in a car with conventional windows, the surfaces within the interior even remaining approximately 10 °C cooler. The heat you feel on your skin as a result of thermal radiation is likewise reduced to a lower temperature.

In practice, this allows
the automatic air conditioning to operate on less power right from the start, the blower running on a lower level with a reduced flow of air and noise level also serving to save fuel. And since infra-red-reflecting glass comes in a laminated security structure, it has a – limited – theft-inhibiting effect and will not break that easily in the event of an accident.

Front seats featuring a
memory function as standard. 
The driver and front passenger seats both come with a memory function for three different seat settings adjusting the seats electrically fore-and-aft, for height, seat and backrest angle. The headrests, in turn, can be adjusted anually for both height and angle, again in the interest of maximum comfort.

Even the “basic” seats come
in high-quality Dakota leather which, through its natural grain, provides a perfect match for the sophisticated style and class of the 6 Series. The colours available are Black, Cream Beige, and Chateau.

The sports seats available
as an option and also adjustable electrically feature sporting, extra-firm upholstery and provide even better body support particularly for fast, dynamic motoring. The electrical lumbar support available as an option on the basic seats is included from the start in the sports seats, the infinitely adjustable system of air chambers helping the passenger to find an orthopaedically perfect seating position supporting his back muscles and relieving his backbone of any particular load. Over and above the basic seats, finally, the sport seats come with a mechanically adjustable thigh support.

Three-stage seat heating is
incorporated in both the basic and sports seats, warming up the entire body area on the seat and backrest as well as the side supports very quickly and efficiently.

A fully-fledged
2+2-coupé. 
For a coupé the passengers on the rear seats also travel first class: Although coupés typically have a lower and flatter roof line than saloons, even adults sitting on the rear seats of the new 6 Series will enjoy ample space and roominess for short and medium distances. The two body-contoured leather seats at the rear separated from one another by a cushion in