Despite being rewarding to drive, genuinely practical - especially in Gran Coupé four-door guise - and subtly stylish, the BMW 6 Series has a hard time standing out from some of its louder competition such as the Mercedes S Class coupé, Audi A7 or Porsche Panamera.
In order to address this apparent shortcoming, the company on Friday took the wraps off the new M Sport Limited Edition. When it goes on sale in April it will come with a selection of unique touches, such as a new Sonic Blue metallic paint finish, custom M Sport double-spoke 20-inch alloy wheels and carbon fibre wing mirror housings.
Inside, it's a similar story. This car will be the only 6 Series variant that will come with BMW Individual (the company's bespoke arm) fine-grain Merino leather trimmed front seats in contrasting black and Fjord blue as standard equipment. A carbon fiber capped gear lever and carbon fiber trim treatments throughout the cabin will also help the car feel that little bit different from the norm.
And of course, as with any limited edition premium car from any premium German marque, the M Sport gets special door sill covers inscribed with the model's name.
One curious decision, however, is powertrain. M Sport variants are usually among the most sprightly of all 'standard' BMWs. However, for this particular model, as well as making it available to order as a two-door, four-door or convertible, BMW is also leaving the engine choice down to the individual owner.
This means that they can tune its performance (or economy) to suit their needs - whether it's a thumping 450hp V8 with four-wheel drive, a 330hp in-line six cylinder, or a 313hp turbodiesel offering a 5.1l/100km fuel economy on the combined cycle.
But regardless of engine choice, the new model will also come with an eight-speed Steptronic sports transmission as standard.
