Report: Next-gen BMW 6-Series to go on 500lbs diet, next M6 to get 600hp

BMW has been working overtime to shift their corporate goals to more sustainable and advanced motoring and part of this campaign is a huge onslaught against one of the biggest troubles when it comes to designing automobiles–weight. Despite the growth in size and heft of BMW’s models over time, Munich has always kept a keen eye on curb weight (although this may not be quite as true with current standard models).

But after the revealing of the BMW i3 and the i8, it’s clear the engineers at the Roundel were able to learn a thing or two about new weight saving techniques, which are expected to be implemented in all of BMW’s future models as they continue to reduce fuel economy ratings–and weight’s a big issue with fuel economy.

Click here for our original post on the updated 2015 BMW 6-Series.

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One of those future models is the next BMW 6-Series, which could get as much as 500lbs knocked off of its current curb weight rating, according to Automobile Mag, who spoke to some insiders about the new next-generation BMW 6-Series at a recent press launch for the updated facelifted model. This comes thanks to a completely redesigned chassis and platform, employing the latest tricks in the book first learned from BMW’s research and development with the i cars.

Additionally, the 6-Series should feature smaller proportions, a wider track, and less overhangs, which also implies the 6-Series could just get smaller in general. This makes perfect sense as a previous rumor hinted that the next BMW 6-Series could compete directly with the Porsche 911. But in its current form, the 6-Series, which initially tips the scales at 4,001lbs as a base model, is way too heavy and cumbersome to come even near the Porsche 911 as a competitor.

Power should be supplied by the usual range of six- and eight-cylinder engines with the six- possibly getting boosted to 350hp while the V8 models gets bumped to 475hp. The top dot M6 however is rumored to get as much as 600hp from a revised version of the current M6’s 4.4L TwinPower Turbo V8.

Source: AutomobileMag