Gran Coupe designed to conquer

BMW says most buyers of its all-new 6 Series Gran Coupe will be new to the Bavarian brand, lured from rival four-door ‘limousine-coupes’ like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, but admits its first large, sleek sedan will also steal sales from its own 7 Series flagship.

Now on sale in a turbocharged six-cylinder 640i specification priced from $184,800 – with a 650i variant to follow in October and the M6 version due next year - the 6 Series Gran Coupe allows BMW to take direct aim for the first time at the cheaper CLS and Audi A7 Sportback, as well as more expensive big, sexy four-doors like the Maserati Quattroporte, Porsche Panamera and even Aston Martin Rapide.

“The 6 Series Gran Coupe is primarily a conquest vehicle that will tempt buyers of a wide range of top-end luxury sporting saloons and represents another opportunity for us to lure customers from other high-end brands,” said Piers Scott, BMW Group Australia Head of Corporate Communications.

“Like the X6, the Gran Coupe will be a strong conquest car for us. It will have huge conquest appeal, because it is a new addition to the range.”

The 640i GranCoupe is more than $20,000 pricier than the CLS350 ($164,570) and almost $40,000 dearer than the A7 3.0 TFSI ($147,800), but undercuts the cheapest version of Maserati’s soon-to-be-replaced Quattroporte V8 ($250,000) by more than $65,000.

Further upstream, the Panamera S ($284,700) is about $100,000 more expensive, though Porsche’s entry-level four-door sedan is positioned $10,100 higher at $194,900 for the Diesel. Aston’s Rapide is in another league at $371,300 – more than twice the price of the 640i – but the upcoming 650i (circa $240K) and yet-to-appear M6 GranCoupe will take BMW’s sleek sedan further upmarket.

Logically, the entry-level 640i GranCoupe’s sub-$185K sticker price makes it $6500 dearer than the 640i Coupe ($178,300) and $9500 more accessible than the 640i Convertible ($194,300), but the 640i sedan offers more standard equipment than both of its two-door namesakes, in the form of adaptive LED headlights and four-zone climate-control.

The German brand’s new technology flagship – at least until the facelifted 7 Series arrives here in October – slots into the BMW range between the more formal looking 5 Series and 7 Series sedans, in terms of both size and price, with Australia’s first 6 Series GranCoupe variant costing some $69,200 more than the $115,600 535i sedan and $22,100 less than the 740i limousine ($206,900).

The 640i Gran Coupe also undercuts the cheapest 7 Series – the $202,600 730d diesel – by $17,800, but BMW says its established flagship will retain its traditional clientele, which includes a large proportion of hire car purchasers.

“The 7 Series is a car that says ‘I’ve made it’,” said Mr Scott. “The Gran Coupe has a more dynamic driver in mind and places a premium on elegance and premium design. The 7 Series has a more classic design.”

However, BMW Group Australia’s product and pricing manager for 5, 6 and 7 Series models, Christoph Priemel, admits the Gran Coupe will sway some customers who might otherwise have bought a 7 Series.

“It would be a lie to say the Gran Coupe won’t affect 7 Series (sales) at all,” he said. “Undoubtedly, there will be 7 Series customers who have always wanted a car like the Gran Coupe. It’s a car a lot of people have waited for.”

BMW will not reveal its sales targets for the Gran Coupe, but says it expects the 7 Series to outsell it. So far this year, BMW Australia has sold just 28 examples of the 7 Series – almost 66 per cent down on the first half of last year.

Meantime, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was Australia’s top-selling $100,000-plus luxury car with 57 sold, followed by the Panamera (47), Audi A8 (46), 7 Series, Jaguar XJ (26), Bentley (25) and Rolls-Royce and Lexus LS (both with nine sales).

BMW expects the 650i to be the volume-selling variant, at least initially, within the Gran Coupe range, which it says should also outsell the 6 Series Coupe line-up with minimal affect on its sales.

“The Gran Coupe will not endanger 6 Series Coupe sales,” said Mr Scott. “There won’t be huge cannibalisation of the coupe, but anyone interested in the coupe will also like the Gran Coupe.”

Following the arrival of the 650i Gran Coupe in October, the next new 6 Series release in Australia will be the M6 Coupe and Convertible in late 2012, while the diesel-powered 640d Gran Coupe is also on the “watch list” for 2013 – when the M6 Gran Coupe is due.

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