[SpokenHands]

Thanks for some very interesting commentary here:

My last 4 BMWs have had Ivory White Dakota leather interiors. With two kids under 10, it has been surprisingly resilient and easy to maintain. I clean and nourish the leather at least once a quarter, unless spills occur when I attend to it with excellent Autoglym products as soon as possible [I have had chocolate, grassy/muddy shoes and orange juice!!] Because it is elegant, sophisticated and conservative, my natural inclination would be to get the Black Sapphire exterior with Ivory White interior.

However, if i were to try something different (and on the 6ers, all black interiors do not set off those wonderful swage lines across the centre console and dash), the Vermillion Red is a bold choice for me. Admittedly I have never liked the VR interior pictures ever, they usually photograph far redder than they actually are, but at the dealership the deep red leather against the black world interior and black sapphire exterior did look very sporty and exotic.

[I kind of agreed with the BMW dealer that the Cinnamon Brown & Amaro Brown wouldn't age as well] Cohiba Brown Individual is very elegant but as a £5700 option, its hard to justify.]

Thanks for pointing me to the Ruby Red pictures here - again, like Carbon Black you have got to own it once but it can wear off - nothing beats the sharp metallic contrasts of Black Sapphire for me.

ADDING ceramic controls (not because it will stay cool in sunlight - we barely have any in the UK - but because its dark chrome finish and tactility is quite elegant)

STILL CONSIDERING Active Cruise Control [I think Stop-N-Go is quite useful especially in start stop traffic that i drive in, and on motorway hauls]. £1600 a bit mad for this option

AGREE 4-zone automatic airconditioning is overkill in the relatively small confines of the 6GC (not so much the 5GT which is massive) but presume the rear console will then be blank - which is ugly.

REMOVING Park Assist [for 'ninnies' - technical term ], good points noted on Speed Display but I think its a personal thing (and I am not biting, but thanks anyway for your thoughts)

I am adding the brushed aluminium window trim (replacing the High Gloss Shadowline) because those curves/kinks accentuate the coupe lines. Again, I have always had High-Gloss Shadowline so perhaps this is me just being a bit different.

Ordering to go March 2013 production - but trying to figure if there are any sneak LCI facelifts round the corner. Nothing has been spied yet!!