Alpina B6 vs. BMW M6 - Which Is the Better Gran Coupe

This is the BMW 6 series gran coupe. Actually it's the M version. The M6 gran coupe, and I think it is the sexiest, best-looking BMW they build. "I mean, they stole Pontiac's old formula, right?" Lower, longer, wider. And it is gorgeous! And, not only does it look great, it drives great, too. In fact, this is my favorite BMW. And here comes Jason driving the same car. Wearing the same outfit.  - Jason, why are we dressed the same?    - Yeah, but you picked these outfits out. "- Okay, I tried to make you look like a dope" and it kind of backfired. - Fair enough, okay.  Underneath these two white coats are two very different things. "Underneath that one is a hairy matzo ball, or something." And underneath this is a svelte Italian.   "Look, the cars look the same on the outside," but they're very different underneath. "And I don't argue that the best 600-horsepower" "gran coupe is not the M6, it's the Alpina B6." "- That's what you think, however, there's only" one way to find out. "- Really, you're going to use that tired, old line again?" - It's a catch phrase, you just kind of keep repeating it over and over again, that's how it works. - Oh, you think it's working, huh? "- Hi there! - Oh no." "- Hi there! - Stop." "- Please. - Hi there!" "- Please. - Hi there!" "Hi there! - Stop!" "- Hi there! - Help!

"  Yes please! (engines revving) - Yeah, buddy! Going off the reigns, give it all you got. "- If I made you choose between spaghetti and pizza," would you realize you've been duped? Oh yeah. "These two dishes have exactly the same ingredients." "It's just a bunch of flour and water and tomato and basil." Same exact stuff, yet totally different. Same story applies to these two cars. It's not about the ingredients, it's about the preparation. "And there are a bunch of small detail changes" "on these cars that completely change the personality." "For example, the M6 needs to be all motor-sporty," "so it gets a dual clutch for lightning-fast shifts." "The Alpina doesn't care about that, so it can use" a torque converter automatic. It also has 74 more pound feet of torque "down low in the rev range, thanks to single-scroll turbos." It gets off the line with all-wheel drive without any wheel spin. "The M6, trying to send 600 horsepower to the rear wheels," it just lights up the rear tires and wants to be sideways all the time. "So it gets a really quick ratio power steering" so you can correct it. All of these changes make these two cars "very different even though they look identical." - [Johnny] Not quite identical. There are some visual differences, such as the fender vents. - [Jason] Oooh, big deal. "- And the bigger difference, like the grill." "The M6 has got big nostrils and a big gaping mah" "because you got to get all that air onto the coolers." "Now the Alpina, it may not be as effective up front," "but it just looks so much more sophisticated." "And the same story is true out back, right?" "Yes, the anodized tips on the M6's exhaust are cool," "but the way those quad pipes sit in the rear valant," it just looks sharp. "And since I'm slagging on the M6, carbon fiber, really?" You're putting a lightweight material on a 4,500-pound machine? "You're not fooling anybody, it's like a fat guy" drinking a diet soda. (burps)  - Yes, there is one place where the M6 "does look better than the Alpina, and that's the wheels." "I love five spokes and I think that black wheels" are a fad that's never going out of style. - I meant the Alpina's wheels. "Speaking of something that's not going out of style," "those are decades old, and they're the coolest" "wheels ever, because one of those spokes is hollow" "so the valve stem can be inside the hubcap." Hidden! They're gorgeous! "- I think they're just kind of fuddy-duddy.

Do you agree that we're about to get inside" this car and drive it? "- Yes. - Good!" Then we're back in agreement. - Look, we match the interior. - I know, it's great. "It's been a while since I sat in one of these." I just love this interior. - [Jason] It's still gorgeous.  bad things about this car.   "- But I mean, what we're doing, it's a fantastic car" "and we're basically going to be looking at the two of them" and saying, Ah, the pea under this one's" "mattress is bigger."" 128;274648;275804;- I found a pea."""   - Oh, Jesus, go ahead.  "Unfortunately, I can't reach it, it's not here." - They're using the seats from the coupe. - But it's (mumbles), it's right here. You mean, I have to reach. "Oh, come on, looks good at the chiropractor's office" when you need an adjustment because this seat belt is ridiculous.  - Yes, right away. (laughs) Shocker! "This waterfall effect is absolutely stunning." - Beautiful, beautiful. That leather doesn't line up at all. - [Johnny] That's bothering you? "- Yeah. - Come on!" - It's $150,000 car. "First thing I noticed, that doesn't line up." - Look, this is leather. "It's a natural product, it's probably two different cows."  Alright, alright. - [Johnny] But I love that we found peas. Before we even started moving. But, here's the thing. You hit this button. It's the M button, right? And all peas are forgiven. (laughs) So fast. - [Jason] Why am I listening to a V10? "- Well, I think the reason has something to do" "with that wacky cross-plane exhaust manifold" turbo bumption encabulator. - Yeah, ish, yes. I'll explains to you people. "That's why it has this amazing patented genius" "exhaust manifold that replicates the firing order" of a flat-planed V8. "- That's because you want to get the even thrust." - Even pulses to every twin scroll, yeah. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. "- But it's got the exhaust note of a flat-plane V8."   - [Johnny] That doesn't drive me crazy. "Fair enough, let's talk about the steering for a second."  "- It is hydraulic, and it is great on a back road" "when you're really at it, but man, like, you know," "this is kind of a big luxury coupe and when you're" "cruising on the freeway, it just trim lines everywhere." "It's like the opposite of a Mercedes, you're just" constantly correcting the wheel.   "- My only beef is that it's got the button over here" to adjust the weight of the steering. - [Johnny] Yes. "- [Jason] And the three weights you can choose from are" I'm low on power steering fluid, I have no power steering fluid. "- [Johnny] It's all in that mode right now." "- [Jason] And it threw the belt off in the pumps." There's no assist whatsoever. "- Yeah, does anyone drive around in their old classic" 911 like Boy, I wish I had a  it's just good steering. - It's just right. Absolutely. "And everything's adjustable on this car, but I love" "that the transmission has three modes in manual mode," "but then, it doesn't have a mode that replicates" a torque converter automatically. "DCTs are great when you're bombing down a back road," but this thing in traffic. (groans)  "around town and usually I'm like, Oh, there goes Jason.""""" Except for this one. You're totally right. (laughs) "You're the bozo in a matte white $150,000 car" and you're not moving at a green light. You're not even pushing on the throttle. "- And remember, this car is available with a stick shift."  "- So everyone's just going to assume you're a 16-year-old" on your first stick driving lesson. (imitating car engine) - How's it ride? - Um, look it's got 20s on it. They're big wheels. - [Johnny] They are big wheels. - [Jason] And considering that, it's okay. It does ride a little bit harsh. - Didn't they just mount the subframe directly to the body? "- Yeah, normally there's a bushing in there," but on the M6, it's bolted directly so you get a lot of noise. "- And they do the same thing on the M4, right?" It's kind of a M-division trade. "- Right, it's to give the rear subframe more rigidity" "so that under all of the power, and this thing" "has a ton of power, it's not walking around" on the back, right?

This thing has 200 too-many horsepower. "- [Johnny] Look, for 2017, now it has 600 horsepower," because 575 wasn't enough, yeah. "But the other thing is this traction control light." "I've never seen a car where it flickers more." I mean, this has to be Morse code for ultimate driving machine. "I don't know what it is, but again, it shows you" how confused M-division is at the moment. Look, they're obviously going to say, We can't do all-wheel  "dilute the brand, that's why we don't build an M7." "Can I interest you in a brand new X5M?"" 253;496161;496994;- Right.""" - Look at that X6M over there."" (shushing) I mean, they're just out of their minds. "- Right. - It's crazy." "- [Jason] Well they could, this car needs all-wheel drive," and there's the benefit of the Alpina. "The Alpina isn't stuck in this motor sport thing" where it needs to have a dual clutch instead of a real automatic. And it can have all-wheel drive, "and because of that automatic and the all-wheel drive," "I betcha anything that car is a full second," "or close to a full second quicker zero to 60" than this car is.  - Oh, easy.   - Yes! "- Okay. - Yes!"  "- [Johnny] Okay, so the two cars are lined up," we're about to drag race them. Here's the thing. He's going to kill me. "We've tested these cars, I've looked at the numbers" and I stand no chance whatsoever.  "but I'm actually a cheater and I can't believe" Johnny is going for this. "Like, this car does zero to 60 in 3.3 seconds every time." That car is closer to 4, but that was done by our testing team. "If it spins the tires, it does like 6 or 7-second" zero to 60. By the time he starts to catch up to me, "I'm going to be a quarter-mile ahead of him." He's got no chance. You ready there big guy? "- I am, I'm kind of certain you're going to beat me" to 60 because of your all-wheel drive, "but I think the high-revving horsepower nature" "of this motor is going to kill you in the quarter.

" "- By the time that stupid thing hits the quarter-mile," I'll be at the three-mile mark.  - Not the car, you. "- You might be right, I don't know, lets do it." - Alright, I'll count you down, go on go. (engine revving) Three, two, one, go. Still spinning. "How do you like that wheel spin, I can barely see" you in my rear view mirror. (laughing) You're a quarter-mile behind me. "- It's a hostile work environment, I'm telling you." Could you imagine, everyday, with him? - [Jason] Thirty. "- [Johnny] Okay, well, maybe we could do something like," what do those dudes in Miami do, like a rolling drag race?  "autobahn missiles, so maybe let's do like the" 50 to 150 run. - [Johnny] Okay, sounds good to me. "- [Jason] Okay, so we're going to do this on the go." So it is three, two, one, go.

 Uh oh. No! Okay. "- Boy, you're awfully quiet all of a sudden, big mouth." "- [Jason] You weigh 350 pounds less and by that," I mean your car. "- [Johnny] I just absolutely 100% smoked you." "- In the real world, that thing can't make it" "out of a parking spot without laying two strips" of rubber, so I win.  in that car to see how it drives? "- Yeah, let's have you jump in the car because" I don't like you getting a medal at all. "- Seriously, everyday, no matter what you say to him." Could you imagine? - [Jason] Oh man, this is beautiful. "- [Johnny] Yeah, and no tacky stupid carbon fiber."  "- Instead, they have wood and what do you want in a car?" "Metal, leather and wood. - It's gorgeous." "- No plastic and carbon fiber is a form of plastic," it's big plastic. "- So we know it's faster right off the line," "obviously, but I masked something by brake-torquing it." "I haven't felt turbo lag like this since the" last time I drove a Porsche 930. "I mean. - Really?" "- Watch, ready? - Okay?" - [Jason] Floored. (laughs) "- Oh, it's just calm, it's just working up to it."  That was 12 seconds of lag. "- It's like when a shot putter, like, you know," they're spinning before they throw it. That's all, it's just building it up. "- [Jason] Do you ever look at the tachometer for a second?" Yeah, see how it's pointing that way?  - [Johnny] Oh my God. So it's at 5,000 RPM. "- Now we know why there's active sound measure" with the M6.

This is the 900-pound elephant in the room." Which is this chassis. Which might actually weight 900 pounds. And here's the reason why the 7 series, "the 5, 6 series, and the Rolls Royce Ghost," "and Rafe, and Dawn, they all share a lot of parts." Meaning that there are pieces of this car "that have to support the weight of a long wheelbase Ghost." - [Jason] Yep. "- [Johnny] You know, you want that Rolls Royce" "to be really quiet, so you're going to make a lot of stuff" "like the firewall really, really quiet and soundproof," "and what the result is you have this 600-horsepower" "gran coupe sports car that you can't really hear." - So now we know, I mean, it sounds good.  "- But it's, yeah, it's quiet. - It's very muted." It's very muted. "- [Johnny] But you know what, a really loud car," "if you owned it, it's probably fun for the first day," and then you just want to get your donuts. And it's (groans loudly), you know and so, this is, this is luxurious. "- Driving this car around town, it's almost perfect." (engine accelerating) "One thing on both of these cars, they're so wide." It's like driving a school bus. "Like that wheel is so far away that I'm always afraid." - [Johnny] Yeah but it looks so good. - [Jason] I'm going to curb it. Right? And then, it rides well, it's quiet. It's so Aston Martin-y, talkative. - [Johnny] Oh, good point. - [Jason] This is a special car to drive. - [Johnny] Let me ask you a question. How is it on the back road? (laughs)  "- [Johnny] Sort of falls apart, doesn't it?" "- [Jason] Well, look, okay, the steering ratio on the M6" is 12.7 to 1. "The steering ratio on this car is 18.7 to 1." So I have to move the wheel so much more, and then, there's a ton of grip, I mean, look at that grip. "- [Johnny] Yeah, hey, mission pilot, super sport." Yeah, yeah.  "It's such a great car to drive at five-tenths," "four-tenths, and then it just kind of falls apart.

[Johnny] I think what Alpina's done is they've built this" "almost ideal autobahn cruiser that in day to day," "normal situations is much better than the M6." However, you know, I think it just sort of falls apart on a back road. "- And I think it's going to completely fall apart" on a racetrack. So, we should take it to one.  (engine accelerating) "- [Jason] What is the proper way of routing a seat belt" through a white sport coat? "- There is no proper way, you're not supposed" to wear coats in cars. - [Jason] They're just called terrible. - [Johnny] So my plan backfired again? - [Jason] It's the same plan. Hey Randy.   (engine accelerating) - This thing feels like a 747.   and it'll just take off into the air. - [Johnny] Keep it on the ground. - I hate planes, I hate flying.    Because he never ran a racing series "and had to drive across this country over and over." I have a great appreciation for planes. "- [Jason] I have a great appreciation for the speed" at which they transport me.  "- But I a, dislike the other people on the plane" "because nothing fun ever happens, it's all bad news." "It's flatulence, diarrhea, vomiting, I mean," children screaming. "Part of the problem might be that I grew up" "watching that Airplane movie, and I realize" "just how many things could go wrong, I mean," they could run out of coffee, Johnny. (laughing) "Were you in the Mercedes flight where the chicken" came flying through the windshield?  - Yeah, there was some Mercedes. (laughing) (mumbles) Mercedes. Not kidding, Mercedes chartered a plane, "they chartered a plane and a bird came through" the windshield.  (laughing) "It was just this bang, descent, and when they" got on the ground, they're like, Yeah everyone, there's been a chicken" "that has come through the windshield."" 477;948055;951335;Why are you laughing, this is so wrong.

Nothing good ever. - [Johnny] That's good, that's funny. - [Jason] Right, right. "And you with your white people problems of," Oh I was upstairs on a plane  "- [Johnny] Aren't you wearing like a suit sitting" "in the back of a $130,000 car being whisked around" "our own private racetrack by a Daytona 24-hour winner?" - Yes, but I'm not complaining about it. "- [Johnny] Where's your sense of adventure?" "- I'm in a car with Randy Popes doing hot laps." We barely even notice anything. - Oh yeah, we are doing hot laps.  - Alright, M6? (rock music) (engine revving) Are you trying to work? (laughing) - Gah, that's 120 miles an hour like that. (snaps fingers) "- [Randy] And in spite of being in the sport plus mode," "it still bounces around more than I would have expected." - Yeah well, I'm jiggling.  (laughing) (tires squealing) "- [Randy] I thought you guys liked this stuff?" "- [Jason] It feels very different from this far back" to the center of gravity. - [Johnny] Yeah. (engine accelerating)  - It's a rocket ship. - But it doesn't stop as well as it goes. - Oh that's nice to tell us now! You could have mentioned that before I got in the backseat. (laughing) (engine revving) "- [Randy] Now it's an enjoyable experience if you want it." But the thing is, the way it shows up, it's sudden sub turns like that.  - So it's not easy to predict. "Because it doesn't put power down very well." On the other hand, at lighter loads, when it's not as stressed out, it's really quite responsive. (screaming) The brakes go into a, they got into a no-zone. There's good bite under light pressure. "But then, under more brake pressure, there's no more bite." "- [Johnny] So I'm just glad that our sport coats" match the interior. - Yeah, right, so you can't see the puke. (laughing) Why was that way forward? Awesome, yeah! Very nice. "- [Randy] Actually this is a good drift car."  (engine accelerating) (car engine) So, is the M6 still your favorite BMW?  Is an Alpina technically a BMW?   "The M6 is no longer my favorite BMW, the Alpina is.

Right. - Wow!" "- Yeah, right? - What a car!" - [Jason] And look, I love the M6. "I love that it's sideways, I love that it's 2.2" seconds quicker around those areas. But you like the Alpina better everywhere. I like the Alpina better everywhere. "And even Randy liked the Alpina better here." - [Johnny] Which was a big surprise. "- [Jason] Yeah, he always like the tighter," tauter, faster car. Not here. I think the M recipe works better on smaller, tighter, more communicative cars, "and the Alpina formula, well, big car like this." - [Johnny] It's the way to go. And look, 500 Alpinas are made a year. "Talk about a unicorn, here's a metallic green one." "- [Jason] And it really is like riding around" in a private jet, especially when we talk about something like ride quality. - [Johnny] Yeah. "- [Jason] Where that thing is chattering, this was just." (exhales) "And they're both on 20s, it's not like there's" a wheel size difference. It's magic. "- I loved it, I mean, look, maybe we're just getting old." - No! "It's a better sports sedan, it's a better luxury sedan," and it's just the better gran coupe. - [Johnny] I agree. "And therefore, the winner of this head to head is" - The B6, because B is better than M? look we know you don't have time to wait for the next episode of Head 2 Head that's why you need to head to Motor Trend On Demand com that's where the latest episode always lives "and there's one bathroom and so all the journalists" "were the entire first class part of the thing." "- And you all know each other, that's the worst part." "- Oh, it was the, luckily I didn't have, I just sat" there like mortified, just like, Oh!""   - But the stories are great! 

om deddy Tuesday, June 27, 2017 BMW 6 Series