According to BMW, water has influenced every aspect of the design of its new 6 Series, which goes to show what utter rubbish car manufacturers spout when it comes to their latest models. There is, according to the design boss, fluidity everywhere you care to look, from the kinks and creases of its complex body shape to the interior.
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Best to ignore the marketing hyperbole and the corporate nonsense; the latest 6 is a huge improvement over the outgoing model. Granted, it has nothing of the shock factor of the previous, Chris Bangle-era 6 S, which looked quite striking from the front but, by the time your eye had worked its way round to the rear, you were probably starting to feel ill. The new one, no matter what angle it's viewed from, doesn't have anybody reaching for the nearest bucket.
Unusually, BMW chose to launch the new 6 Series as a convertible months before the tin-top, which has only just been unveiled, and there will be another body shape emerging next year, too, as a four-door coupé, which will go head-to-head with Merc's CLS and Audi's A7 Sportback. Nobody could accuse the Germans of stifling choice.
Under the new clothes it's a car based on the latest 5 Series, which is as good a starting point as any. And the convertible boasts a 50 per cent increase in torsional stiffness compared to the previous drop top 6 Series. The engines, too, are new and vastly improved, with a 3L, turbocharged straight six in the 640i and a 4.4L twin-turbo V8 in the mighty 650i. There's good news regarding the new 6's interior, too, and there's no denying that the driver is the centre of attention when sat behind the chunky wheel. The instrumentation is angled in his or her direction, just like it was in BMWs of the 1970s and '80s and it's a really well-thought-out and executed cabin crafted using quality materials.
On the road, the 650i is the consummate GT car. Quiet, extremely comfortable and highly refined, there is a real danger that it could actually be a bit dull. There's plenty of low-down power from the twin-turbo V8 but you can't really hear it. And that's a shame because there's a meaty soundtrack being strangled in there somewhere. The optional (Adaptive Drive) adjustable suspension gives the car poise and excellent road-holding, with very little pitch or roll, and does a really decent job of disguising the car's weight. But the steering feels lifeless and uncommunicative, which is unusual because BMWs always used to feel like proper driver's cars.
The 650i will crack 100kph in five seconds flat (top end, as is usually the case, is limited to 250kph) so it's a serious performer. It just doesn't feel like one. This isn't helped, either, by the new eight-speed auto 'box. It's a fine unit, don't get me wrong, but if you take over using the paddle shift, with eight ratios at your disposal, you're constantly changing up and down. Far better to leave it in auto mode and let the impressive torque propel you along while the car seamlessly works its way through the gears.
It really is a mixed result, the new 650i Convertible. It looks better, goes better and handles better than any before it, but this progress seems to have been at the expense of driver enjoyment. It's perhaps telling that BMW's advertising tag line used to be "The Ultimate Driving Machine". These days it's all about "Joy". Now the company has got the styling back on track, perhaps it needs to focus next on the driving experience. Bring on the M6.
Price, base Dh460,000
Engine 4.4L V8, twin-turbocharged
Gearbox Eight speed automatic
Power 407hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L/100km
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Company%20Profile
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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
