The New BMW 6 Series Convertible Interior Features

The new BMW 6 Series Convertible is designed to be a 2+2-seater. Its interior offers individually tailored seats for the driver, front passenger and rear passengers. High-quality materials, carefully coordinated colours and, once again, meticulously formed surfaces combine to produce an ambience defined by luxury, sweeping dynamism and stylish functionality.

A hallmark BMW element of the interior design is the driver-oriented cockpit layout. The central section of the instrument panel, containing the iDrive system's Control Display, the central air vents and the controls for the audio system and air conditioning, are all angled slightly towards the driver. Added to which, the gearshift lever and the buttons for the parking brake, roof operation and Drive Dynamic Control are located on a surface that opens out towards the driver and is set lower than the front passenger side of the centre console.

The front passenger area is bordered by a surface curving elegantly from the armrest over the side edge of the centre console, upwards and outwards into the instrument panel and then horizontally into the door trim. This provides a harmonious surround for the front passenger area, creating a feeling of exclusive security. The contour of the rear waistline surface, which extends slightly into the interior between the head restraints, highlights the individual seat layout of the rear.

The black-panel instrument cluster of the new BMW 6 Series Convertible combines the traditional sports car circular instruments with state-of-the-art display technology. The navigation system, telephone and entertainment functions are operated using the standard-fitted iDrive control system, whose Control Display boasts an innovative design. The on-board monitor takes the form of a freestanding display for the first time in the new BMW 6 Series Convertible.

The standard 7-inch screen can be upgraded to 10.2 inches by ordering the optional Navigation system Professional, and the larger screen has a high-quality galvanised chrome surround. The minimal depth of the display gives it the character of a flatscreen unit. The new arrangement of the Control Display - which now reaches further into the passenger compartment - also influences the architecture of the instrument panel, which rises up steeply in front of the driver and front passenger in the style of a powerboat cockpit.

This impression is further enhanced by the structure of the door trim panels. Their surfaces have a powerfully taut look and, like the black waistline surface, pull in and rise up to create a smooth transition into the instrument panel, giving the interior the effect of wrapping around the driver and front passenger.

The new BMW 6 Series Convertible is fitted with newly developed lightweight seats with an integrated seatbelt system, and the seats are available in three variants. As an alternative to the standard items, customers can also order sports seats with integral head restraints or comfort seats with a wider range of adjustment. All seat variants come with crash-activated head restraints.

The range of standard safety equipment also includes front airbags, head-thorax side airbags integrated into the seat frame, three-point automatic belts for all seats, belt force limiters and front belt tensioners, ISOFIX child seat mounts in the rear and a roll-over protection system. The roll-over system further developed specifically for the new BMW 6 Series Convertible consists of two bars placed behind the rear head restraints. As soon as the central safety electronics register a danger of the car rolling over, the pyrotechnic release mechanism is activated, at which point the high-strength aluminium bars rise up from their rest position in a fraction of a second.

Carefully targeted advances in the use of materials and in the development of the car's load-bearing structure have significantly enhanced the body's construction in terms of the agility and safety it offers. Its static torsional rigidity is now around 50 per cent greater than that of its predecessor. In the interests of weight optimisation, the doors, bonnet and front axle spring mounts are all aluminium, while the front side panels, roof lid and boot are made from glass fibre composite.