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New Models
DRIVEN: Fast Times In A BMW 650i
The 400-horsepower coupe was upgraded for 2012 with improved styling, quicker responses and higher technology.
The BMW 650i Coupe returned for 2012 with more power and sleeker styling. (Photo: BMW)
Whenever the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction rolls around, which happens every year not too far from my Phoenix home base, I always try to arrive in style. That is, I try to schedule a road-test car that is cool and fun, and maybe make onlookers think I’m a high-rolling collector-car player instead of an auto writer covering the event.
There has been a bevy of Corvettes, Mercedes, a few Saabs (sigh), even a gigantic Dodge Ram one-ton dually that would have been perfect for towing home a trailer loaded with newly purchased vintage cars. That didn’t happen, but who’s to know?
This year, I hit the jackpot with a superb 2012 BMW 650i Coupe loaded with every option imaginable, which turned envious heads as well as treating me to some fantastic drive time. Brutally fast and responsive, the 650i turned my daily drives to WestWorld into a thrilling run of roaring acceleration and hot cornering. Yes, I took the long way home.
Whenever I have doubts about BMW’s boast of being the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” I hunker down into something like this and wind up believing the hype. Though overpowered, overpriced, a bit too heavy and about as green as an oil derrick, the 650i is a guilty pleasure that I could live with.
Although, that $103,000 price tag all in for the loaded test car did give me pause. Base price is a “piddling” $83,000, but that’s without the $20,000 worth of performance, safety and entertainment extras. The $3,700 Bang & Olufsen audio system was awesome, but so was the music coming from the tail pipe.
Motivation for this super coupe comes from a new twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 that cranks out a convincing 400 horsepower, and delivers zero-60 times of about 4.9 seconds, BMW says, with the top speed electronically limited to 155 mph. The engine is also a torque beast, with its full 450 foot-pounds coming on just above idle.
Fuel mileage is a bit less impressive, at 15 mpg city and 23 highway, the EPA says. The highway mileage is not all that terrible considering the car’s capabilities.
Weight is up slightly to 4,380 pounds, which is hefty enough to make the 650i a GT rather than a sports coupe. The convertible version also gained weight, growing to 4,531 pounds. But all that torque helps you to quickly forget how much this thing weighs.
The BMW barrels along at high speeds with impressive stability, and while it sticks in the curves on its foot-wide performance tires, you don’t really want to throw it into a corner the way you would, say, an M3.
The 650i has numerous electronic enhancements to improve handling, including Dynamic Damper Control that lets the driver choose between Comfort, Normal and Sport; Integral Active Steering, which moves the rear axle in harmony with the front to sharpen steering response; and optional Active Roll Stabilization, which acts on the front and rear anti-sway bars to keep the car level in curves.
There has been a bevy of Corvettes, Mercedes, a few Saabs (sigh), even a gigantic Dodge Ram one-ton dually that would have been perfect for towing home a trailer loaded with newly purchased vintage cars. That didn’t happen, but who’s to know?
This year, I hit the jackpot with a superb 2012 BMW 650i Coupe loaded with every option imaginable, which turned envious heads as well as treating me to some fantastic drive time. Brutally fast and responsive, the 650i turned my daily drives to WestWorld into a thrilling run of roaring acceleration and hot cornering. Yes, I took the long way home.
Whenever I have doubts about BMW’s boast of being the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” I hunker down into something like this and wind up believing the hype. Though overpowered, overpriced, a bit too heavy and about as green as an oil derrick, the 650i is a guilty pleasure that I could live with.
Although, that $103,000 price tag all in for the loaded test car did give me pause. Base price is a “piddling” $83,000, but that’s without the $20,000 worth of performance, safety and entertainment extras. The $3,700 Bang & Olufsen audio system was awesome, but so was the music coming from the tail pipe.
Motivation for this super coupe comes from a new twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 that cranks out a convincing 400 horsepower, and delivers zero-60 times of about 4.9 seconds, BMW says, with the top speed electronically limited to 155 mph. The engine is also a torque beast, with its full 450 foot-pounds coming on just above idle.
Fuel mileage is a bit less impressive, at 15 mpg city and 23 highway, the EPA says. The highway mileage is not all that terrible considering the car’s capabilities.
Weight is up slightly to 4,380 pounds, which is hefty enough to make the 650i a GT rather than a sports coupe. The convertible version also gained weight, growing to 4,531 pounds. But all that torque helps you to quickly forget how much this thing weighs.
The BMW barrels along at high speeds with impressive stability, and while it sticks in the curves on its foot-wide performance tires, you don’t really want to throw it into a corner the way you would, say, an M3.
The 650i has numerous electronic enhancements to improve handling, including Dynamic Damper Control that lets the driver choose between Comfort, Normal and Sport; Integral Active Steering, which moves the rear axle in harmony with the front to sharpen steering response; and optional Active Roll Stabilization, which acts on the front and rear anti-sway bars to keep the car level in curves.
The Lyonheart K
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