BMW has officially joined the four-door coupé market with its new 6 Series Gran Coupé. Unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this week, the new 6 Series Gran Coupe is due to fight a heated battle with formidable opponents such as the Audi A7, Porsche Panamera and the well established Mercedes CLS.

The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé will be offered with three engines. The BMW 640i Gran Coupé uses a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder petrol engine with 235 kW and 450 Nm of torque. The 640i Gran Coupé can accelerate from 0 – 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds.

The BMW 640d Gran Coupé uses a 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine that produces 230 kW and 630 Nm of torque. Acceleration is on par with the petrol sibling, reaching 100 km/h from a standing start in 5.4 seconds.

Finally, the range-topping 650i employs the same 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 found in the new M6 Coupé, however, it has been detuned to 330 kW and 650 Nm of torque. Acceleration from 0 – 100 km/h is 4.6 seconds, with help from an eight-speed automatic transmission.

There is no word yet, but you just know an M version of the Gran Coupé will have to rear its head at some point, to take on the likes of the Panamera Turbo and CLS63 AMG.

The new 2013 BMW M6 Gran Coupé has been caught for the first time by spy photographers whilst doing a round of testing in its native Germany.

Set for debut later this year, this M6 Gran Coupe is essentially a four-door version of the upcoming M6 Coupe, though with tuning differences for its slightly larger structure. Clear signs that this is an M variant of the stunning 6-Series Gran Coupe are the quad-exhaust tips, aggressive bumpers, and upsized wheels and brakes.

The car will target the Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG as well as an upcoming Audi RS7, which like the BMW is still in development. It will feature the same 4.4-litre turbocharged V8 found in the 2012 BMW M5, although we expect to see the M division pump a few more ponies out of its larger sibling. The M5 comes with 410 kW, but we expect the M6 Gran Coupe to come closer to 441 kW. The new M6 range is expected to use BMW’s familiar seven-speed M-DCT dual-clutch gearbox to route power to the rear wheels, allowing for 0 – 100 km/h acceleration in the low-four-second bracket.

Unfortunately, we’ll probably have to wait until the end of the year to see the M6 Gran Coupe in showrooms, as BMW is expected to launch the M6 Convertible initially, followed by the M6 Coupe and then this Gran Coupe variant. Look out for the debut of at least one of these cars at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.

Just unveiled last month in Beijing and already tipped for production, BMW’s four-door coupe concept, dubbed the Gran Coupe, is getting a big push from the company. We’ve got new images showing the car’s progression from rough sketch to clay model, through to the finished product.

It’s a typical design process, but it’s nevertheless interesting to see it unfold – especially considering the Gran Coupe appears to be on the fast-track to dealerships. We’ll spare you the press releases’ flowery language and get straight to the gallery, but it is worth noting that while BMW is moving quickly now, it has been very slow to enter the four-door coupe segment.

Mercedes-Benz’s CLS has been on the streets for years now, and Audi (itself late to the game) is already well into testing of the A7, with rumours of a high-performance RS7 in development. That means BMW is playing catch-up, so the Gran Coupe will have to be a stunner just to compete with, much less beat, its rivals. Is this design enough? We want to hear your comments.

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Adapted from MotorAuthority

BMW has unveiled its potential entry into the flourishing four-door luxury coupe market at the Beijing Auto Show with its BMW Concept Gran Coupé.

Combining the comfort of a Gran Turismo with the aesthetics of a high-performance sports car, the BMW Concept Gran Coupé is likely to join the growing fleet of four-door coupes on the market alongside Aston Martin Rapide, Porsche Panamera and most recently the Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Break concept.

Measuring almost five metres long, the BMW Concept Gran Coupé remains spacious even for rear-seat passengers, yet at just 1.4 metres high it retains its coupe-like silhouette – making it up to 100 millimetres flatter than the BMW 5 Series or the BMW 7 Series Sedan.

The forward-tilted shark nose visually extends the bonnet ending in the trademark BMW kidney grilles, flanked either side by sharp, rakish air intakes which house LED day time running lights. The flared wheel arches each house a unique wheel concept where individual spokes extend in towards the centre of the rim, giving it a three-dimensional quality.

Curiously, BMW has not revealed the interior arrangement of its BMW Concept Gran Coupé although it is likely to feature four individual pews like existing models from other brands.

Adapted from CarAdvice