BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe Revealed

The BMW Gran Lusso Coupe has been officially unveiled at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este near Como, Italy, hinting at the future look of the 5, 6 and 7 Series. Created in conjunction with Italian design house Pininfarina, the car could also form the basis of a new 8 Series Coupe that would sit at the top of the range. The Gran Lusso already has several trademark BMW styling cues, such as a stretched-out bonnet, double-kidney grille and the Hofmeister kink in the rear window line. Still, it's clear this is a new generation of BMW design, with the narrow lights, larger grille and single stretched air intake expected to appear on all of BMW's future luxury models, from the 5 Series upwards. The current 7 Series is due to be replaced at the end of 2014, and the new model will be the first car to get BMW's latest luxury design language. A new 8 Series isn't expected to debut until at least 2015, but when it does arrive it'll probably look very similar to the Gran Lusso. That includes the tail-lights that stretch all the way across the rear, and a roofline that flows into the bootlid through a pair of buttresses. Mounted on each of these is a subtle V12 badge, referring to the engine under the bonnet of the concept. BMW hasn't confirmed its output or capacity, but it could be the 536bhp 6.0-litre twin-turbo used in the 760Li. The Gran Lusso's cabin has plenty of exotic materials, such as kauri wood trim sourced from New Zealand and a rooflining finished in Italian virgin wool. It seats four, but BMW claims it has rear legroom “almost on a par with that of a big luxury sedan”. The new 8 Series could form part of BMW's plans to release 10 completely new models by the end of 2014 – it fits with the upcoming 2 Series and 4 Series coupes to fill gaps in the range. It would also give BMW a rival to the new Mercedes S-Class Coupe. (autoexpress)