It may be the most organic car here, but it’s still built on
the bones of an old car. It’s especially evident in a cabin which doesn’t have
the sheen or, with that blue-trim piping, the subtlety of its rivals, and the
rear accommodation is cramped. Our car also experienced the ignominy of
electrical gremlins that affected the tyre-pressure monitor and killed the
already-vague power steering. Onwards...
BMW M6 Gran Coupé
430 kW. Four. Hundred. And. Thirty. Kilowatts. Although
you’re effortlessly cruising along the N3 towards KZN, perched on seats comfy
enough to double as a faithfully worn wingback chair in a wood-panelled drawing
room of a cabin, and taking in a serene landscape of flat plains and koppies
that look suited to an Acme-rocket- wearing Wile E Coyote, those three numbers
still induce a nagging suspicion that said drawing room might as well be
perched atop a dormant volcano.
Sure enough, the action of dipping the loud pedal in the
Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S releases a magmatic roar as the rear hunkers ever so
slightly and the Benz sucks in the horizon in a manner that no executive saloon
has the right to.
As the second most powerful member of the entire Shootout,
the AMG should, by all rights, be something of an unwieldy beast, yet it
strikes an impressive sweet spot between spacious luxury saloon and supercar
crusher.
BMW M6 Gran
Coupé’s interior
BMW M6 Gran Coupé’s specs
·
Output: 412 kW / 680 N.m
·
0-100 km/h: 4,71 secs
·
Top speed: 250 km/h
·
Laptime: 1:16,0
·
Max speed: 167 km/h
There are few finer turbo V8s than the AMG’s. While
pull-away is rapid, the sheer mid-range grunt is simply breathtaking and it
feels as there’s no limit to the power on offer. Gearshifts, although smooth,
are occasionally slow, playing more to the long-legged super-athlete note. But
stick it in sport+ and it becomes more accurate. Despite all that power going
to the macadam through the rear, giving the AMG a clear ability to wag its
tail, driving this car hard is seldom intimidating – it feels surprisingly
planted.
There’s a wonderful duality to its nature. The steering is
excellent: completely natural and progressive. The ride is firmly sprung and
capably counters roll, but it’s sufficiently cushioning not to prove
uncomfortable.
