GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo

BMW will lift the covers off the third body derivative for last year’s all-new 3-Series range at next month’s Geneva motor show.

Offering more luggage space and far more rear legroom than any other 3 Series model - including the wagon - the 3 Series Gran Turismo will make its European sales debut soon after its Swiss debut, before going on sale in Australia mid-year.

As we’ve reported, the 3 Series GT will be bookended by the imminent new 3 Series Touring and, later this year, the all-new 4 Series Coupe, with the 4 Series Convertible to follow in 2014.

Despite the sales failure of the 5 Series Gran Turismo around the world, BMW is convinced the philosophy has a strong future and has committed to it by stretching the 3 Series wheelbase by 110mm and fitting a huge rear hatch to it.

Effectively a rival for Audi’s five-door A5 Sportback, the 3 GT will offer 520 litres of luggage space, even with the rear seats in the upright position, which is 25 litres more than the 3 Series Touring’s cargo space. With its 40/20/40-split seats folded, the Gran Turismo offers up even more space.

The large flat cargo area hides an underfloor luggage space as well, and it also includes cargo hooks and LED strip lighting so you can load it in the dark.

But the rear seats will be at least the equal of the luggage area for providing reasons to look at the 3 Series GT. Of the extra 110mm of wheelbase, a full 70mm of that has been dedicated to more legroom for rear-seat occupants.

All five of the Gran Turismo’s seats have been raised 59mm compared to the sedan and wagon to provide a better view and to make the car easier to get into and out of compared to the 3 Series sedan and wagon.

It’s a far bigger car than either of its 3 Series siblings, with four frameless doors, an automatic tailgate and active spoiler all helping to stretch its overall length 200mm further than the Touring.

It’s 81mm taller at the roofline, too, which promises to provide increased rear-seat headroom to go with the added legroom.

While BMW has refused to confirm a weight figure for the 3 Series Gran Turismo, it insists the big machine retains a 50/50 front/rear weight distribution familiar to most BMW drivers.

All models will draw on the full entourage of BMW’s latest aerodynamic technology, including an ‘air curtain’ to reduce turbulence in the front wheel-arches, an air breather to extract air from the wheel housing and redirect it along the sills, and an active rear spoiler that deploys at 110km/h.

The 3 Series GT will also come with BMW’s usual fleet of Efficient Dynamics measures, including automatic idle-stop, brake energy recuperation, a gearshift indicator and on-demand ancillaries like power steering and oil/water pumping. There will also be the Eco Pro driving mode that BMW claims can lower fuel consumption by about a 20 per cent.

BMW’s newest GT will be offered with five different engines initially in Europe, ranging from the 105kW four-cylinder turbo-diesel in the 318d Gran Turismo to the 225kW six-cylinder petrol engine in the 335i Gran Turismo.

In between will be two different output versions of the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine to power the 320i and the 328i Gran Turismos, while a stronger 2.0-litre, turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine will be fitted to the 320d GT.

All versions will be rear-wheel drive only in the first wave, and fitted with either six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmissions.

In Australia, we expect the 320d to kick of 3 Series GT proceedings from under $65,000 – making it at least $25,000 cheaper than the equivalent 520d Touring and GT (both of which cost $90,500) – matched exclusively to an automatic transmission.

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