Summary
Well, after test driving the Gallardo, anything would have been a bit less exciting and so indeed the M6 was less exciting.
A lot less.
The car I had was a right-hand drive black MY2007 car with 1,500 km on the clock and a nice dark brown interior. It was kitted with the SMG transmission and not much other options, since the Japan models are delivered pretty much full spec.
To be honest, the drive was marred by two things: the salesguy talking on the phone all the time (for which he profusedly apologised, and in reality he was talking to colleagues to find out answers to the questions I asked him) and the streets were a little too busy to really get a good feel for the car.
It is suprising though that the car is not popular in Tokyo (salesguy said his dealership only ever sold 2 in LHD for example).
Here are some specific views on the car:
Exteriors
The M6 is not a beauty, let's all be honest here. The pudgy boot is nasty and the front and side quite anonymous for such a car. I guess it's the BMW look some (many) people like.
The wheels are not very pretty as far as I am concerned and it only comes with 19'' tires.
This is certainly not a car people buy for its visual impact but that may be attractive to would-be buyers.
Interiors
The interiors are a nice place to be. You can see that German quality has been mated with a stylish yet sober interior. There are a fair number of knobs and buttons so not really my style but there you go. The optional cupholder the car had was a joke and I don't think anyone serious enough about cars would actually order that option!
The SatNav is operated via the iDrive console which is positioned a little too far from the driver to make it usable whilst driving, much better for the passenger to fiddle with it.
The seats are very sporty and comfortable and I am sure they'd hold you up well on long journeys. The driving position is very easy with plenty of visibility, though the instrument panel is at a slight angle so not particularly userfriendly. This issue is obviated by a neat feature which is the projection of speedometer and rev counter into the driver's windscreen (I didn't check if it was visible from the passenger seat). Bit gimmicky and not sure how long one would use that for but all the same, good to have.
I noticed that the brake pedal is positioned forward with respect to the throttle, which makes for a slightly longer throttle-to-break movement, not something I'd want in my car whilst driving at high speed but I'd think it's something you could grow used to and accommodate.
The backseats are smaller than in my GranSport and although I am 170cm, my head almost touched the roof. In all honesty, they should have done without the rear seats at all given the sheer unusability of them.
The boot is gigantic
and somewhat odd to have in such type of car. I mean, it could hold a suitcase and some, what's the point when you can't have passengers given the size of the backseats
??
One thing I wasn't happy with was the steering wheel. Very ordinary.
Engine
The car has two settings for the engine: normal and power, the former delivering about 400 ponies and the latter an additional 100. The M6 has 520Nm of torque and on paper it should blow pretty much anything on its way.
The engine note varies accordingly though this V10 has a deep guttural sound that left me a bit unsatisfied.
You know, when you drive such a powrful car, you want to hear the engine through and through. Not quite what this M6 provides you with.
On the positive, the low-end torque is excellent and the speed progression very smooth.
So, despite this car having a super engine on paper, it doesn't quite feel you are going that fast and frankly, the whole point of a sports car is to make you feel fast and let you have a big grin on your face, if not, then what's the point?
Handling
The M6 has three suspension settings which help you adjust the car and trade body roll vs comfort.
I must say that the car is very comfortable in all settings anyway and feels always capable to go where you actually want it to. Upon dropping the hammer, the car is remarkably stable and didn't squat an inch.
But at almost 1,800kgs, this is not a track car and to be fair, it's not pitched as one.
Braking was fairly modular, though I got the impression the car could do with slightly more powerful brakes.
Gearbox
The car has five settings to determine the speed of the shifts, plus a full auto mode (which I will touch upon later) and the paddle/stick operated clutchless manual.
The SMG is sold as a marvellous piece of kit and it is. But it's not what I like. After driving the GranSport, I love the intuitive gearshifts and feeling of actually shifting gears. The M6's system was certainly fast
I don't know, it seems more like a traditional auto than anything else (and surely someone will tell me it is actually an auto
) and in fact, when putting it in auto mode, I found it to be much better.
The GranTurismo I drove recently wasn't as good in auto mode as the M6 is. The gear changes seem to adapt depending how quickly you are driving (eg. RPMs, speed) and I'd say that's the best way to enjoy driving this car.
Conclusion
In essence: fantastic car? No. Awesome piece of engineering? Undoubtly yes.
That's all folks, next on Monday is the Audi R8.
1934 - 1938 - 1982 - 2006 
Spammers bodycount: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 
I really, really like it. The 6-series, the Z4 coupe (but not the convertible) and the 1-series coupe (but only the coupe) are the only current BMWs I like the look of. Before that, the 8-series was nice, and before that I think I'd have to go back to a 2002 or 1602 to find one I liked.
Now, that'd be seriously cool 
