I have just been to see all the new X6 colours, and despite narrowing my decision down to Space Grey/Black Leather, I am captivated by Vermilion Red.

I compared it side by side with my favourite colours, the best of which was the Le Mans Blue I had on my 4.8is, and by comparison Vermilion Red is a similar strength to Le Mans Blue, but with more flecks of lamp-black, together with the metallic flakes. It has a depth of colour that exceeds even Le Mans Blue, and the red is a deep wine red that looks very expensive. I also laid it side-by-side with Indianapolis Red (the M-colour avail on M5/M6) which I really despise, and Vermilion has none of the brownness of Indi Red and looks much more confident. Definitely a Coupe colour.

The launch videos showing the X50i in motion look pretty representative of how Vermilion looks in the metal. It is a clever colour since those parts of the body shaded from the light look almost black, whereas the parts in the light brighten up and shine red. It's clearly designed to accentuate the curves of the X6.

I also had a look at the Chateau Leather, and thought it looked ghastly. Not for me thanks, so I will stick with Black.

The other colours look in the metal as you would imagine;

- Tasman is a dull, greeny grey. Nice enough if you like that kind of thing, better IMO than Steel Grey, not as dark and dull as that, and the green is subtle.

- Mineral Silver, is a creamy beige silver.

- Monaco Blue looks close to the old Orient Blue I had on a previous car, so that means 'very' dark blue, and more of an off-black.

- Deep Sea Blue, looked nice enough in pictures but it is much darker than Le Mans Blue and a less sophisticated mix of hues, so it looked a little ordinary to me.

So Vermilion or Space Grey for me, but I'm leaning towards Vermilion...

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