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By Samuel Ee
BMW may be the last German carmaker to turn up at the "four-door coupe" party but it is making up for it by being the best-looking.
The BMW6 Series Gran Coupe is essentially a stretched version of the 6 Series Coupe with an extra pair of rear doors but with its balanced proportions, it still manages to have a sporty, coupe-like profile.
With taut lines running down its flanks towards an attractively pert rear end, its sharp design is supposed to combine the 6 Series' sportiness with the 7 Series limousine's luxury.
Several styling cues have been taken from the 6 Series Coupe, such as the frameless doors and the front seats with their integrated seat belts, but with an interesting difference. The Gran Coupe has what is called 4+1 seating. The two full-sized seats in the back have an auxiliary third seat in between them.
This rear centre seat has a three-point seatbelt but because the lower centre console merges into the seat squab, whoever is sitting here will have to do so with knees well parted.
In front, the dashboard is identical to the one in the 6 Series Coupe although certain trim finishes and colours are reserved for the Gran Coupe to make its interior look strikingly different. One cool option is the $15,400 Bang & Olufsen surround sound system with its distinctive speaker in the centre of the dashboard.
Underneath, the Gran Coupe uses the basic 6 Series platform, with the same wide front and rear track but with a wheelbase extended by 113 mm to give it the same 2,968mmbetween the axles as the 5 Series Sedan.
As a result, the Gran Coupe looks long, low and wide. This stance benefits handling too but overall, this four-door coupe has a slightly more comfortable suspension set-up than the 6 Series Coupe.
In fact, the Gran Coupe's higher level of ride comfort and quiet cabin add up to a very smooth and relaxing drive. The BMW 640i Gran Coupe with a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine is so luxuriously civilised that its brisk zero to 100 kmh time of 5.4 seconds may come as a surprise to some. A 650i Gran Coupe with a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 is also available.
Part of the credit has to go to BMW's excellent eight-speed automatic transmission with its silken gear changes.
But steering wheel-mounted shift paddles are available for a more spirited drive, as is the familiar Driving Experience Control function with its four driving modes which can also modify the chassis setting.
Together with its classic front engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, the 640i Gran Coupe is still capable of typically dynamic BMW handling. But in such elegant surroundings, cruising is probably going to be the most popular option.
BMW latest Coupe sells 20 units in first week here
Click on thumbnail to view. Story continues after photos.
(Photos: BMW Asia) |
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This article was first published in The Business Times.
 
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