TO THE POINTWhat’s New? M-power engine, M-massaged transmission, M-specific brakes, M-tweaked suspension, M-badged trim, and acceleration to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. Selling Points: Acceleration, braking, handling, steering, styling Deal Breakers: Visibility, uncomfortable interior, tiny trunk Our Advice: Buy the 2006 BMW M Coupe because you love to drive, not because you love being seen in it.
Rain turned out to be a good thing. Wisconsin’s Road America circuit, located smack in the middle of the doorway to beautiful Door County, was soaking wet from unrelenting showers, and the wind cleaved a chilly swath across the rolling hills of America’s Dairyland. Three 2006 BMW M Coupes idled in pit row, waiting for journalists possessing widely varying levels of skill to whip them around the four mile road course. At the end of the day, not one of them was lost. That is pure testament not only to the effectiveness of stability control and the importance of a 50.2/49.8 front-to-rear weight distribution, but also to how easy it is to feed the new 2006 BMW M Coupe fine inputs, and have it respond exactly as anticipated.