{"id":85205,"date":"2026-04-06T15:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85205"},"modified":"2026-04-06T15:09:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:09:27","slug":"bmw-6-series-f12-f13-f06-best-looking-bmw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=85205","title":{"rendered":"BMW Built One of Its Most Beautiful Cars Ever \u2014 Then Just Retired It"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"post-summary-wrap\">\n<h3 class=\"post-summary-title\">Article Summary<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"post-summary-list\">\n<li>The F06\/F12\/F13 design traces directly back to the 2007 BMW CS Concept \u2014 a show car killed by the financial crisis that was simply too good to waste.<\/li>\n<li>Designer Karim Habib is the largely uncredited mind behind both the CS Concept and the 6 Series that followed it.<\/li>\n<li>With values now well off their original asking prices, the F-generation 6 Series might be the best-looking used car bargain on the market right now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<p>Go back to the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2010\/09\/21\/bmw-6-series-coupe-concept-updated-photos\/\">BMW is showing the new 6 Series coupe<\/a> \u2014 the F13 \u2014 and if you were following the brand closely at the time, you\u2019d have recognized what you were looking at: BMW getting its design confidence back. The Bangle era had split opinion sharply, and the hedging that followed didn\u2019t help matters. The cars BMW made in the late 2000s were fine. Competent. But safe. None of which are words you want applied to a car that\u2019s supposed to make you feel something. The F13 was long, low, and muscular, and it looked like it had been drawn by someone who was actually enjoying themselves.<\/p>\n<p>More than a decade later, with the 6 Series nameplate retired and absorbed awkwardly into the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/07\/17\/2026-bmw-8-series-final-model-guide\/\">8 Series family<\/a>, the F06\/F12\/F13 generation looks better than ever. One of the cleaner design high-water marks in recent BMW history, it was ambitious, cohesive, and \u2014 rare for the era \u2014 not obviously trying too hard.<\/p>\n<h3>From concept to reality: the BMW CS Concept that started it all<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-scaled.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-493465\" title=\"2007 BMW Concept CS-6\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-830x528.jpg\" alt=\"BMW CS Concept\" width=\"830\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-830x528.jpg 830w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-1609x1024.jpg 1609w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-768x489.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-1536x977.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2007-BMW-Concept-CS-6-2048x1303.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>To understand why the F-generation 6 Series looks the way it does, you have to go back to 2007 and the Shanghai Auto Show, where BMW unveiled one of its most striking concept cars in decades: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2024\/12\/18\/bmw-had-planned-cs-coupe-convertible-sedan\/\">BMW Concept CS<\/a>. The one-off was the work of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2019\/09\/06\/former-bmw-design-chief-karim-habib-heading-over-to-kia\/\">Karim Habib<\/a>, a Lebanese-Canadian designer who had already left his mark on the E60 5 Series interior and the F01 7 Series body. With the Concept CS, Habib got to imagine something without many constraints \u2014 a long, low four-door luxury coupe that would sit above the 7 Series in terms of sheer presence. BMW\u2019s vision of a grand touring flagship. Something that would compete not just with a Mercedes S-Class Coupe, but with the idea of a dream car.<\/p>\n<p>It was jaw-dropping. Long hood, low roofline, muscular haunches, a taut beltline that rose toward the rear. The kidney grilles were rendered large and upright, flanked by slim, sharp headlights. The whole thing said *occasion*. The kind of car you might sketch if someone told you to draw the most beautiful four-door coupe you could imagine, budget and engineering be damned.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-gran-coupe-images-22.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-153044\" title=\"BMW 6 Series Coupe Front View\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-gran-coupe-images-22-750x499.jpg\" alt=\"White 2015 BMW 6 Series coupe parked by water with cityscape background.\" width=\"750\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-gran-coupe-images-22-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-gran-coupe-images-22-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-gran-coupe-images-22-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-gran-coupe-images-22.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The problem was timing. The 2008 financial crisis killed the CS Concept before it could reach production. BMW shelved the range-topping road car and the dream appeared to die. But Habib\u2019s design study was too good to abandon entirely. Its DNA \u2014 those proportions, that stance, that coiled-up sense of purpose \u2014 was quietly channeled into the next 6 Series. The F12 and F13 carried the spirit of the two-door concept forward, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2019\/11\/02\/bmw-6-series-a-handy-used-car-guide-for-the-f06-f12-f13-trio\/\">F06 Gran Coupe<\/a> eventually made the four-door vision a reality for people who actually had keys to one.<\/p>\n<h3>Three body styles, one vision<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/P90176283_highRes-e1572704354865.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-356722\" title=\"IPV Portugal 03_2015\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/P90176283_highRes-830x554.jpg\" alt=\"BMW 6 series Family\" width=\"830\" height=\"554\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>BMW executed three fundamentally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2019\/11\/02\/bmw-6-series-a-handy-used-car-guide-for-the-f06-f12-f13-trio\/\">different body styles<\/a> here without any of them feeling like a compromise \u2014 and that\u2019s harder than it sounds. Each brought something different to the table, yet all three were immediately recognizable as the same car.<\/p>\n<h4>The F13 coupe \u2014 the purist\u2019s choice<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/F13-wallpaper1-1280.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-54871\" title=\"F13-wallpaper1-1280\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/F13-wallpaper1-1280-750x600.jpg\" alt=\"F13 BMW 6 Series Coupe\" width=\"750\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/F13-wallpaper1-1280-750x600.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/F13-wallpaper1-1280-1024x819.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/F13-wallpaper1-1280.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The F13 coupe is where it all started, and for many enthusiasts it\u2019s still the definitive expression of the generation. Two doors, a low roofline, and those sweeping rear haunches give it proportions that feel automotive in the old-fashioned sense. This is a car whose shape is its identity. The silhouette is near-perfect: long front overhang, cab set well back, a roofline that peaks just behind the B-pillar and flows toward the tail. The Hofmeister kink is beautifully executed, and the wide stance gives the car a planted, powerful look even when it\u2019s parked doing nothing at all.<\/p>\n<p>Park one next to almost anything else from the same era and it just looks better. It has that quality that\u2019s almost impossible to engineer deliberately: timelessness.<\/p>\n<h3>The F12 convertible \u2014 glamour, unfiltered<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-152934\" title=\"2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68-750x499.jpg\" alt=\"The F12 BMW 6 Series Convertible\" width=\"750\" height=\"499\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-bmw-6-series-convertible-images-68.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If the coupe is the purist\u2019s car, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2010\/11\/18\/world-premiere-2012-bmw-6-series-convertible\/\">F12 convertible<\/a> is unapologetically about beautiful design. BMW\u2019s engineers fitted a folding metal hardtop that stows in about 19 seconds at speeds up to 25 mph, which means the F12 keeps clean, coupe-like lines when closed while opening up into something\u00a0 glamorous with the roof down. You lose a little of the coupe\u2019s structural rigidity feel, as you do with any open-top car. Add a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 up front, and this convertible is a proper gran tourer.<\/p>\n<p>The F12 also proved that a four-seat convertible didn\u2019t have to look like an afterthought. With the top up, it\u2019s nearly indistinguishable from the coupe in profile. With it down, it belongs in a different conversation entirely \u2014 one of the most beautiful open-top cars of its decade.<\/p>\n<h3>The F06 Gran Coupe \u2014 the CS Concept made real<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-92848\" title=\"2013 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-06-750x500.jpg\" alt=\"Side view of the BMW 650i Gran Coupe\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-06-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-06-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-06-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-06.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2021\/05\/04\/is-the-gran-coupe-a-product-of-necessity\/\">F06 Gran Coupe<\/a> arrived a year after the coupe and convertible at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, and it\u2019s arguably the most significant of the three from a design-history standpoint. This is the car that finally delivered on the 2007 CS Concept\u2019s promise: a four-door gran turismo with real coupe proportions.<\/p>\n<p>BMW had gestured in that direction before with the E63\/E64 generation, but the F06 was more ambitious and more resolved. It\u2019s a big car \u2014 longer than a 7 Series of the same era \u2014 yet it wears its size with surprising grace. The rear doors are actually useable, the roofline doesn\u2019t look compromised, and the rear end, with its low wide stance and distinctive taillights, is one of the most coherent things BMW has penned for a four-door car.<\/p>\n<p>The Gran Coupe also made the 6 Series practical in a way the coupe and convertible never were. Here was a car you could take the family on a weekend road trip without anyone grumbling about the rear headroom. It opened the model to a much wider audience without giving anything away aesthetically.<\/p>\n<h3>The interior: a proper driver\u2019s cabin<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-12.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-92842\" title=\"2013 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-12-750x500.jpg\" alt=\"The interior of the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-12-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-12-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-12-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013-bmw-650i-gran-coupe-review-12.jpg 1900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The F-generation 6 Series interior was another strong point. The cockpit leans toward the driver \u2014 controls are noticeably angled toward the helm rather than split evenly between occupants \u2014 while still offering enough genuine luxury to satisfy the grand touring brief.<\/p>\n<p>Materials were good throughout. Proper leather on the major surfaces, real metal and wood trim options that felt like they belonged in a luxury car rather than an approximation of one. The seats proved comfortable on journeys that lasted far longer than the performance figures might suggest. The sport seats offered a combination of lateral support and long-distance comfort that most dedicated sports cars don\u2019t manage.<\/p>\n<p>The iDrive system had matured significantly by this point, and the 6 Series got a version that was actually intuitive to use \u2014 not something owners of early iDrive could have predicted.<\/p>\n<h3>A design that keeps getting better<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-BMW-6-Series-Gran-Coupe-29.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-144609\" title=\"2015 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-BMW-6-Series-Gran-Coupe-29-750x500.jpg\" alt=\"2015 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-BMW-6-Series-Gran-Coupe-29-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-BMW-6-Series-Gran-Coupe-29-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-BMW-6-Series-Gran-Coupe-29-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.bmwblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015-BMW-6-Series-Gran-Coupe-29.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Good automotive design improves with age. The F-generation 6 Series is a clean example of this. When new, surrounded by other cars on dealer lots, it looked good. Now, with used examples available for a fraction of their original asking prices and surrounded by a new generation of BMWs whose design direction is considerably more divisive, the F-generation looks exceptional. The kidney grilles are appropriately sized. The surfaces are clean and taut without being fussy. Nothing looks like it was added by committee or tested to death in a focus group.<\/p>\n<p>Compare it to what came after \u2014 the G-generation 8 Series that replaced it \u2014 and the 6 Series arguably wins. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2025\/10\/31\/bmw-8-series-deserved-better-why-itll-be-missed\/\">8 Series is a fine car<\/a> in many respects, but it lacks the ease of the 6. It looks like it\u2019s working at being dramatic. The 6 Series never looked like it was working at anything.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmwblog.com\/2014\/12\/11\/world-premiere-2015-bmw-6-series-facelift\/\">2015 LCI facelift<\/a> was well-judged: updated headlights with full LED units, revised taillights, a larger iDrive controller, and better infotainment. BMW understood that the design was strong enough to need only gentle evolution. They were right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article Summary The F06\/F12\/F13 design traces directly back to the 2007 BMW CS Concept \u2014 a show car killed by the financial crisis that was simply too good to waste. Designer Karim Habib is the largely uncredited mind behind both the CS Concept and the 6 Series that followed it. With values now well off [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}