Along with the X3, the 6-series is the oldest BMW

Along with the X3, the 6-series is the oldest BMW

 Along with the X3, the 6-series is the oldest BMW on the market. Launched at the Frankfurt auto show in the fall of 2003, the current car has carried on for seven years, supported by a convertible version launched in 2004 and a very modest face lift in late 2007. Now it�s time to move on, and this is what we believe the next-generation 6-series will look like. It will be launched in late 2010 or early 2011 and draw heavily from the Gran Coup� concept car BMW unveiled at the Beijing auto show earlier this year.Stylistically, the next 6 will be less bulky than the current model, which�back in 2003�was the second Bangle-fied blow absorbed by BMW loyalists after the portly 2001 7-series. With LED running lights and BMW�s characteristic air intakes below the headlights, the next 6 will launch with styling elements that undoubtedly will prove less controversial than the outgoing model�s protruding posterior. It will look leaner, tighter, and more aggressive than the current model.  Power initially will come from BMW�s 300-hp, turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and 400-hp, twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8. Europe will get a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel likely rated around 320 hp, but we doubt it will be offered in the U.S. We will, however, get another M6, which�like the next M5�will be powered by a high-output version of the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8 rated as high as 580 hp. We�re keeping our fingers crossed for a manual-transmission option. The current-generation V-10 M5 and M6 were launched with the automated SMG transmission only, but U.S. customers forced BMW to hastily add a six-speed manual�a lesson unlikely to be forgotten soon. If this engine portfolio sounds awfully similar to that of the 5-series, that�s because under the skin�as has been the case since the 6-series debuted in the late �70s�the 5 is the 6's closest sibling, even though the coupe poses as a sportier, slightly downsized 7-series.