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BMW 645Ci sportster shows both coupe and convertible styles
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- A valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel, that pink hospitality palace off Sunset Boulevard where movie stars and media moguls hang, steers our test car under the portico and prompts every eye in a crowd clustered beneath the canopy to watch as this stunning coupe comes to rest.
It's the kind of car that commands attention, looking strong and serious but also graceful, even sensuous.
It's also the type that valets like to park out front, as if defining expensive taste for the clientele.
Long in the prow and low in stance, this GT-style machine presents a tightly sculpted body and muscular fender bulges rippling around enormous low-profile tires with a sensuous arch of a roof drawn over the cockpit.
And beneath the exaggerated prow there's a powerful engine primed with enough horsepower to spin those rear rollers till the rubber rubs off.
Folks in Germany at Bayerische Motoren Werke -- that's BMW to you and me -- classify the new product with an alphanumeric label as the 645Ci.
We slot it into the prestige luxury sports segment, one of those beautiful but rare supercars that seats only two plus maybe two more in the lap of luxury while fully capable of hurling all into warp-speed nirvana.
Built upon an abbreviated version of the platform underpinning BMW's 5-Series mid-size sedan, the 645Ci scores the big V8 engine and much of the sophisticated hardware off the 745i flagship sedan and it conforms to two styles as a hardtop coupe or fully-automated canvas-top convertible.
A big and powerful GT -- two doors and four seats in 'gran turismo' fashion -- has been a favorite marque in decades past at BMW. There was the pricy 8-Series CSi super coupe appearing from 1989 to 1995 and the previous 6-Series CSi available in 1976 through 1989.
The new 6-Series 645Ci coupe and convertible measure about the same in overall length as 5-Series sedans although the wheelbase has been cropped by 4.3 inches and the body shape is decidedly different with the GT's extended front end and a slinky cab-rearward cockpit.
Package styling begins up front with the distinctive signature of BMW's twin-kidney grille centered on the long prow in a simple design ringed in chrome with smooth body-colored bumpers below housing a horizontal air intake with mesh screen insert and low foglamps.
Multi-lens headlamp clusters wrap around the front corners with xenon high intensity discharge (HID) lamps that operate with BMW's Adaptive Light Control (ALC) system where a pair of unique swivel lamps -- keyed to the angle of the steering wheel -- rotate during turning maneuvers to keep a light shining on the vehicle's forward path.
Flanks flare over the exaggerated wheelwells like muscular shoulders accentuating chiseled character lines while the arching roofline shows blacked-out pillars that blend with tinted glass in rear side windows to emphasize the rakish style of a sporty coupe.
Tail treatment is simple in a blunt-butt back scored by high-mounted tail lamps on corners and the hint of power from twin pipes set low and tipped in chrome.
The body consists of a combination of materials -- aluminum and steel plus lightweight composites.
Also light in weight is the front-end structure, as it's composed of aluminum with suspension equipment also cast from aluminum, which pares the overall unsprung mass.
The suspension, coupled to big wheels and speed-rated tires, enable the pavement-hugging BMW to romp in an agile manner across a winding road as rack and pinion steering gears with Servotronic vehicle-speed-sensitive power assistance carves out the curves in effortless fashion.
Another high-tech suspension element -- Active Roll Stabilization (ARS) -- works aggressively yet transparently to reduce body roll when the car rips around those corners.
Brakes amount to a key factor for control, and the 6-Series coupe and convertible use ventilated discs linked to aluminum calipers. Everything's tied to electronic controls, with brake proportioning and dynamic control, anti-lock action and a stability control system to stem skidding and slipping.
And BMW's revolutionary Active Steering Control (ASC) system, available in an optional sport package, operates through an electronically-controlled device that can vary the steering ratio to match a driver's style as well as pavement conditions, ultimately generating more confidence during tricky turn maneuvers.
There's plenty of strength in the throttle of 6-Series cars, thanks to that beefy V8 which displaces 4.4 liters off an aluminum block.
Rigged with electronic fuel injection and BMW's Double Vanos variable camshaft controller in place plus the Valvetronic steplessly variable intake arrangement, the plant pumps out 325 hp at 6100 rpm and 330 lb-ft of torque at 3600 rpm.
Both the coupe and convertible provide three choices for shifting chores.
For those sport drivers who prefer to do all of the work there's the ZF Type H manual with six forward gears.
For fans of automatic transmissions, BMW adds a ZF 6 HP26 electronic automatic with six forward gears and Steptronic mode for clutch-less manual shifting.
But the third choice combines favored traits of manual and automatic shifters -- BMW's electro-hydraulic six-speed sequential manual gearbox (SMG) with both automatic and manual shift programs. In manual mode, you can shift the SMG by tapping the shifter lever or finger paddles fixed on the steering wheel.
Cockpit for both coupe and convertible features articulated bucket seats up front with cabin trimmings in fine leathers and real hardwoods.
There are luxurious appointments and power controls with memory settings, plus high-tech gear such as BMW's iDrive control system. The computerized iDrive tool manages various car functions as well as eliminates a host of buttons and dials and dashboard clutter in a simplified format that's easy to master.
The coupe comes with a vast panorama glass moonroof but the convertible gets a one-button automatic mechanism to fold the lid into a slot behind the cabin and seal it with a rigid metal tonneau cover.
Premium prices apply to these premium cars, with MSRP figures commencing at $69,995 for the coupe and $76,995 for the convertible.
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| Vehicle Specifications: |
| 2004 BMW 645 CI Specs |
| Description: |
2-door 2+2 sport/luxury coupe and convertible
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| Model Options: |
2-door 2+2 sport/luxury coupe and convertible
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| Wheelbase: |
109.4 inches
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| Overall Length: |
190.2 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 4.4-L V8
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| Transmission: |
Manual/6 ZF Type G
Auto/6 ZF 6 HP 26
Steptronic
SMG/6
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| Drive: |
Rear
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc
ABS/EBP/DBC/DTC/DSC
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| Airbags: |
Coupe: 2 (front)
2 (front knee)
2 (side front)
2 (head front)
Conv: 2 (front)
2 (front knee)
2 (side front)
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| Gas Mileage: |
645Ci Coupe M/6: 17/25 mpg
645Ci Conv. M/6: 15/23 mpg
645Ci Coupe A/6: 18/26 mpg
645Ci Conv. A/6: 18/26 mpg
645Ci Coupe S/6: 16/24 mpg
645Ci Conv. S/6: 15/22 mpg
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| Price: |
645Ci Coupe M/6: $ 69,995, 645Ci Conv. M/6: $ 76,995, 645Ci Coupe A/6: $ 69,995, 645Ci Conv. A/6: $ 76,995, 645Ci Coupe S/6: $ 71,495
645Ci Conv. S/6: $ 78,495 |
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