TAKE the lid off almost any car and its glamour factor soars. Soft-tops equate to sunshine, freedom and that too often out-of-stock commodity — youth. They just look better than a hard-top equivalent. The new BMW 6 Series is a case in point. Aesthetically, the 645 Ci Coupé version may be striking and highly “sporty”, but I suspect that there will be unease about it among some of the 40 and 50-year-olds who will be earning enough to buy one or choose it as a company car.

The convertible version, though, looks nicely balanced and more at ease with the radically different styling theme that Chris Bangle, the BMW design supremo, has introduced. The great thing about either version of the 6 Series is their sheer capability. Both have a 4.4-litre engine that sounds good and feels good. Mechanically, structurally and dynamically, the 6 Series is a great car. After a while, even its looks become more accept able. At least they do if you manage to avert your gaze from its rump, which resembles a boot that apparently belongs to an altogether different and smaller car.

But this car is what upmarket models of this type should be about: power, driver involvement, luxury, road presence and loads of equipment. Like other 21st-century BMW creations, the 6 Series needs to be viewed in its natural environment, on the road — cracking along, leaving a swirl of dust in its wake, twin exhausts growling. That growl is prominent the moment the throttle is opened; if you have 4.4 litres of V8 engine producing 333bhp, then it is good to hear its pulsing beat being flaunted instead of the namby-pamby noises that most luxury cars in the £50,000 price bracket emit.

The 6 Series is very much a driver’s car, with the front-seat passenger along for the buzz of it all. There are a couple of plush rear seats, but this is not really a four-seat car for grown-ups travelling long distances, unless those in the back have had a successful circus career that has involved fitting into small boxes.

Behind the steering wheel is the place to be. Power comes with the sort of smooth curve of which the Red Arrows would be proud and the (extracost) six-speed ZF automatic gearbox suits it admirably. There is also a manual mode, although no steering wheel mounted paddles, which is a pity. They are part of the optional SMG (sequential manual gearbox) six-speed transmission, which can shift a gear in 150 milliseconds with no need to lift off the accelerator — very Formula One. Standard gearbox for traditionalists is a six-speed manual.

With the automatic gearbox, the 6 Series gets to 62mph in 5.6 seconds (Coupé) and cracks on to an electronically limited top speed of 155mph. But this is not just a straight-line flyer. The car’s chassis excels in providing levels of grip, controllability, roll-free cornering, comfort and steering sharpness that give it special status. It has something of the feel of the new 5 Series about it, although BMW protests that it is very much a model in its own right.

Complementing its performance and handling is a fine driving position. The car’s interior has a close-coupled, cockpit-like ambience. BMW has fitted the 6 Series with its iDrive system for controlling several functions, now with an “escape” button for use when you get lost along labyrinthine routes to the completion of simple tasks. But that provision is in itself something of an admission that the process is likely to confuse.

The good news, though, is that BMW’s optional voice-control system, which comes as a part of the more exotic version of GPS navigation systems available, has been expanded and can carry out most of the iDrive tasks. So the driver can just tell the car what to do and to be quick about it. The system will even read out e-mails.

Supporting all this high-tech stuff are beautifully clear instruments, almost the sort of thing found in classic fighter aircraft. BMW says that the world market for luxury performance coupés and convertibles increased by 48 per cent from 1999 to 2001 and that further growth is “quite conceivable”. With a car such as the 6 Series, it certainly is.

BMW SIX SERIES

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET?
(All figures for manual coupé): 4.4-litre V8, 333bhp with choice of auto, manual or SMG gearboxes.
HOW FAST? 0-62mph in 5.6sec, top speed of 155mph (electronically limited).
HOW THIRSTY? 24.1mpg combined; 16.4mpg in town.
HOW MUCH? Coupé from £49,855; Convertible from £55,355.
WHEN? Now.
VERDICT: Look at it this way and that way and then drive it.