SPY PICS: BMW Gran Coupé
Stretched 6 Series two-door coupe is a long way from the sinuous Concept CS that did the international show circuit in 2007It's very pretty, but the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe owes little to the original, beautiful, four-door Concept CS that went on display at the 2007 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.
The forthcoming model — effectively a stretched 6 Series with two extra doors — is an altogether more pragmatic approach to building a competitor for the lithe Mercedes-Benz CLS four-door.
But it does look very close to the Gran Coupe concept that was unveiled in Beijing last year. The svelte BMW sedan/coupe has been spied testing on public roads in Germany for the first time by the Carparazzi team of spy photographers.
The 6 Series connections are hardly disguised, on this test mule at least. From the A-pillar forward it would not be surprising to find plenty of panel interchangeability and it looks as though much the same might apply at the rear, including maybe even the boot lid opening.
The spliced-in section between the A and C pillars makes the Gran Coupé what it is: A four-door sedan that sort-of justifies its title via arching side window lines and a stretched-out, low-slung profile.
Although it is assumed the body width remains unchanged, the car is reportedly five metres-plus long (the current 6 Series measures 4.9 metres), so it can allow more reasonable space for back seat passengers than that provided in the two-door 6 Series.
Although the spy photos show a distinct, black-painted B-pillar, Carparazzi describes the side windows as “pillarless”.
With the wheelbase bumped by probably more than 10 centimetres, the 6 Series Gran Coupé has the opportunity to enhance ride quality while maintaining BMW’s reputation for quick steering response and decent road grip.
Engine lineup for the four-door Gran Coupé is expected to replicate that of the regular 6 Series, including the 235kW TwinPower 3.0-litre turbo six and the 300kW 4.4-litre V8 available in Australia.
The four-door BMW coupe is expected to make its international debut some time in 2012.
— with Carparazzi
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