BEIJING MOTOR SHOW: BMW 9 Series

Last week BMW confirmed it will produce a stretched version of its X5 luxury SUV called the X7, and now there’s word that its flagship 7 Series passenger sedan could be extended to include an even larger and more luxurious limousine dubbed the 9 Series.

According to a report by German publication Auto Motor und Sport, BMW will use this month’s Beijing motor show to reveal an all-new super-luxury sedan based on the ultra-opulent Gran Lusso concept it revealed at last year's Concorso D'Elegance Ville d'Este classic car show in Italy’s Lake Como.

At the time, reports suggested the sumptuously-appointed Gran Lusso two-door would resurrect BMW’s 8 Series nameplate, which was last seen on the large V8- and V12-powered 840 and 850 E31-series grand touring coupes that effectively replaced the 6 Series in 1989, before being discontinued in 1999.

If the German report is correct, however, the Pininfarina-designed Gran Lusso will emerge in production form at China’s biggest motor show this year in four-door sedan form as the 9 Series.

Such a model would not only be aimed directly at mega-wealthy Chinese and Russian luxury car connoisseurs, but provide BMW with a direct rival for Bentley’s Flying Spur and the most excessive derivative of Mercedes’ new S-Class sedan, a stretched limousine variant dubbed the Maybach (which will take its name from Daimler’s failed ultra-luxury brand).

According to AMUS, the 9 Series will borrow technology from the next-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom that is due to debut in 2016, including V8, V12 and, perhaps, plug-in hybrid powertrains. The Gran Lusso was powered by a twin-turbo 6.0-litre 12-cylinder engine.

If the 9 Series four-door materialises, however, it could also pave the way for a two-door super-coupe closely based on the Gran Lusso, which could revive the 8 Series badge.

BMW publicly toyed with the idea of a large V12 two-door via the Concept CS at the 2007 Shanghai show, but now it seems the success of the 6 Series coupe, convertible and sedan family has convinced it to revisit the formula using the 7 Series as a starting point.

That could mean up to three new models underpinned by the all-new platform that underpins BMW’s next-generation 7 Series, which is due to emerge next year and expected to incorporate lessons learned from the carbonfibre-based i3 and i8.

It’s unclear how many of the Gran Lusso’s lavish interior features will reach production.

Among them were the finest tobacco-brown Foglizzo leather, the finest Italian virgin wool headlining featuring a ‘Principe di Galles’ pattern, soft deep-pile carpet, an oblong roof aperture illuminated by white LEDs and kauri wood inserts sourced from a single piece of the rare New Zealand timber that was “aged more than 48,000 years”.