BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe on the way

Bavarian car-maker BMW is belatedly set to join both Audi and Mercedes-Benz in the swoopy junior sedan fight with the all-new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe launching in Europe next year.

Prototypes of the smallest Gran Coupe have been seen around Europe as BMW rushes to correct the glaring oversight of not being involved in the compact premium sedan contest.

Audi’s A3 sedan has owned the segment and Mercedes-Benz will launch its A-Class sedan midway through next year. While it has been busy building up its SUV portfolio, the strength of Audi’s junior four-door hasn’t gone unnoticed in Munich.

The BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe will join a line-up that already boasts a 6 Series equivalent, though it will be phased out in favour of the 8 Series Gran Coupe next year. A 4 Series Gran Coupe is also planned for 2020.

The 2 Series Gran Coupe won’t be the only small BMW next year, though, with the swooping tiddler joined by a more conservative 1 Series hatch midway through 2019.

Unlike recent small BMWs, though, the new models will lose their rear-wheel drive positioning, switching to front-drive, with all-wheel drive for the performance variants.

Sources suggest BMW will also deliver an M2 Gran Coupe by 2021 at the latest, and a convertible version in late 2020, both of which will sit alongside the revamped two-door Coupe.

Size-wise, the 2 Series Gran Coupe will fill the gap between the 1 Series hatch and the upcoming 3 Series sedan, and will be based on a long-wheelbase version of the hatch’s platform.

It won’t be a traditional rear-drive BMW, though, because it will ride on a version of the UKL architecture used in all MINIs and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer and X2.

Given the cars it’s sharing its platform and oily bits with, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is likely to start out with 1.5- and 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, mated to both six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions.