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2009 BMW X6 & Gillette’s Castle
GILLETTE’S CASTLE is an oddly fanciful tribute from one man to his own creative labors.
William Gillette was a thespian of the first order; a star of stage, if not quite screen. His career waned just at the dawn of the new medium. Mr. Gillette’s claim to fame – no, not razors – was in defining the role of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes.
We can credit the Victorian image of the deerstalker cap and curled pipe and the famous “Elementary” line to Mr. Gillette’s interpretation of Sir Arthur’s famous sleuth. The role made Mr. Gillette, who was already “set” from handsome inheritance, millions.
So, in a fit of fantasy to which Walt Disney himself would likely have subscribed, Mr. Gillette built himself his own, eccentrically designed “castle” on the pinnacle of a round hill overlooking the Connecticut River in East Haddam, Conn.
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Completed in 1919 before prudish state laws would’ve prevented such high profile residential construction, the cost amounted to $1 million (roughly equivalent to $9.8 million*). He said that his inspiration was the ancient fortresses that dot the British landscape.
When the actor died, he left his castle to the Constitution State and the property became a state park.
Gillette Castle’s a fitting backdrop for the 2009 BMW X6 xDrive 50i (say that five times fast). The Bavarian crossover marks a controversial new direction for the marque. The castle marks an important location, even if visually the stony monument seems an out-of-place cartoon against the bucolic New English landscape.
The X6 is a new, and not universally appreciated, genre for BMW that claims to broaden the definition of what we’ve come to expect from a true coupe. But like Gillette’s Castle, the car seems to have as many supporters as detractors.
On the Chester-East Haddam car ferry, for instance, curiosity got the better of some other passengers who asked appreciative questions about the car. That said, the Honda Element’s driver, didn’t seem all that amused.
The X6 isn’t for everyone.
From a sales perspective, the X6 inhabits a small niche in BMW’s broader line up. Just 494 models were sold in October, up 38% from 10/08’s numbers. By contrast, the older, less expensive and more utilitarian X5 found four times as many buyers.
Still, I can’t help but feel that the X6, with all its eccentricity, is the more apt interpretation of the SUV von BMW.
The Bimmer’s more toy than truck. More play than work. It’s a cliche. A caricature, to be sure. But caricatures can be fun.
Like Gillette’s Castle, it’s useful that this crossover doesn’t quite “fit”. Useful in the sense that those who disdain the X6 as every BMW shouldn’t be – once my position. And useful to those who see variety as the spice of life.
Tap the link for the ADLX review on the 2009 BMW X6 xDrive 50i >>>
