[Year's_End]

Well I've now had a chance to drive both a 6AT Ecoboost and a 6MT GT. The difference is night and day between the two. I'm completely sold on the GT. Coming from a near-loaded E92 335i, there's not too much more I can ask for with this car.

Would I like it to be a solid 300lbs lighter? Sure, at least on paper so it eases my mind. Could I feel much of a difference on the road, and did it feel like it weighed 3700+ pounds? Not at all. I've driven heavy cars with curbs around the S550's weight, but this felt taut and controlled by comparison. Dimensionally speaking, it felt incredibly wide, and the hood is something new to get used to. I felt like I was eating up another 15% of the lane compared to what I'm used to, but the driving position is great and the steering column is even more adjustable than mine.

There was a huge dose of drama and emotional connection with this car that my 335i has never come close to giving me. That's what you get when you ditch an efficient, boring TTI6 and go for a good ol' atmos V8.

I'm planning on getting this car ASAP. It will be a GT premium with a performance pack and all of the fixings save for ACC and the reverse sensors. I can't wait to get into the domestic aftermarket where the prices aren't insane. This thing will be a great project. It'll get a set of PSSs, a solid coilover set once I see what's proven after the guinea pigs get there hands on it, and of course I'm going FBO and finding the most obnoxious catback I can find.

I can understand that the crowd on this site won't be too happy with a car like this, but it's the one for me.

Now... to order the car and wait 8-12 weeks, or make a trip to Orlando and buy the one in exactly the specification I'm looking for. First world problems.