The BMW 6-Series Has Been Facelifted (Not That You'd Know It)

We’ve poked fun at ludicrously mild facelifts before, but this one rather takes the biscuit. To put you out of your misery, we can confirm that the new car is the one on the right. So, what’s actually different? Well, the headlights are now being fancy new LED items, and, erm… oh! The kidney grille on non-M cars now has nine slats, rather than ten.

BMW says that this change “emphasises the power of the engines through the amount of cooling air they need.” Yes, really.

Other alterations include 10mm larger tail pipes on the six-pot versions, some very subtle revisions to the wing mirrors and a slightly reshaped rear bumper. And that’s about it. However, the 6-series - particularly in M6 form you see here - was always a handsome brute in its own way, so we can’t complain too much.

The interior differences are also rather minimal. Some of the materials have been improved, while the head-up display unit has been swapped for a newer version.

The engines are all the same other than some minor improvements in efficiency, meaning you still get the burly 552bhp twin-turbo V8 in the range-topping M6. Good.

Want to see it in the metal? It’ll make its public debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January.