BMW to continue short-term 6 Series production

RUMOURS are swirling on the fate of the BMW 6 Series coupe, after American publication Road and Track reported that production of the luxury two-door ceased in America during February, leaving the Convertible and four-door Gran Coupe to fly the flag for the 6 Series range.

However the Coupe’s supposed demise has not included Australia, with BMW Australia confirming that production of the 6 Series coupe will continue to come Down Under in all body styles “for several months yet”.

The fate of the car beyond those several months is still unknown, meaning axing the car in the next year or two remains a distinct possibility.

Road and Track is reporting that BMW is dropping the 6 Series coupe with plans to revive the 8 Series badge that existed as a halo two-door coupe from 1990 to 2000, with the 6 Series coupe being reintroduced down the track as the exclusive 8 Series.

The 8 Series rumours exist thanks to various spy photos being taken of a large, camouflaged two-door BMW testing in its native Germany, which punters believe will be the reborn 8 Series.

Those rumours are corroborated by the fact that BMW has filed Australian trademarks for the 830, 835, 840, 845, 850, M850 and M8 all within the last year.

The 6 Series in its current iteration has existed since 2011 with a mid-life facelift in June 2015, meaning an all-new update in the near future would not be out of place.

In the first four months of 2017 BMW has sold 56 examples of the 6 Series across all body styles, which is three less than over the same period in 2016.

The $200,000-plus sports car segment continues to be dominated by the Porsche 911 with 185 sales this year, followed by the entire Ferrari stable (58), the 6 Series, the Aston Martin coupe/convertible range (51), and the Mercedes-AMG GT (50).