- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
New Models
DRIVEN: High-Styling In BMW’s Gran Coupe
New high-end model adds a couple of doors and more back seat to the sleek design of the 6-Series coupe.
The BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe can be ordered in an exclusive matte finish called Frozen Bronze metallic. (Photo: BMW)
BMW’s 6-Series cars have always been about style, and up until now, they’ve always had just two doors, either coupe or convertible.
Now we have the 2013 BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe, which is not really a coupe at all but a four-door sedan that’s styled like one.
Traditionally, coupes are sleek-looking cars designed basically for two people, with only limited space in the back seat. But luxury automakers nowadays have discovered a niche for drivers who desire the sexy style of a coupe but also want the convenience of four doors and more-usable passenger space.
Thus the Gran Coupe, which is a less-practical but cooler-looking version of the 5-Series sedan, all dressed up for a night on the town. Mercedes-Benz has a similar offering in the CLS, derived from the sensible-sedan E-Class, and Audi has the A7, a stylish coupe/hatchback version of its A6 sedan.
Compared with a BMW 5-Series sedan, the Gran Coupe is lower, wider and longer, cutting a dramatic form with its long front end and gracefully sloping roofline. The Gran Coupe is also about four inches longer than the 6-Series two-door coupe, most of that extra length providing more space for the rear seat.
The BMW’s attractively lowered roofline that gracefully flows into the rear serves to define the four-door coupe, though it lessens headroom in the rear and truncates the trunk. For drivers who desire that style, these are small prices to pay for the evocative profile.
They tend to be folks who don’t use their back seats all that much but still want to have rear-door access as needed. The Gran Coupe has adequate space for four, five in a pinch.
The Gran Coupe also commands a significant premium of about $12,000 more than a comparable 5-Series sedan, which basically gives you the more-expressive styling and the compromised rear seat. So it had better be worth it to you.
The Gran Coupe is certainly a lovely number, a beautiful head turner that stands out with poise and sculpted splendor. As with the 5-Series, the rear-wheel-drive Gran Coupe is a crisply responsive car, and manual driver settings that vary from Comfort-plus to Sport-plus act to define just how crisp you want it. There’s also an EV setting that dials back performance in favor of fuel mileage.
I found the regular Sport setting to be to my liking for just about all driving conditions; the Comfort setting felt too pillowy even on the freeway. For me, the more-responsive throttle, steering, shifting and suspension of the Sport setting brought this car to life, although the ride can get rough over bumpy surfaces.
Sport-plus, which one might relegate to aggressive driving on the track, shuts down most of the electronic traction and stability controls for maximum driver involvement.
Now we have the 2013 BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe, which is not really a coupe at all but a four-door sedan that’s styled like one.
Traditionally, coupes are sleek-looking cars designed basically for two people, with only limited space in the back seat. But luxury automakers nowadays have discovered a niche for drivers who desire the sexy style of a coupe but also want the convenience of four doors and more-usable passenger space.
Thus the Gran Coupe, which is a less-practical but cooler-looking version of the 5-Series sedan, all dressed up for a night on the town. Mercedes-Benz has a similar offering in the CLS, derived from the sensible-sedan E-Class, and Audi has the A7, a stylish coupe/hatchback version of its A6 sedan.
Compared with a BMW 5-Series sedan, the Gran Coupe is lower, wider and longer, cutting a dramatic form with its long front end and gracefully sloping roofline. The Gran Coupe is also about four inches longer than the 6-Series two-door coupe, most of that extra length providing more space for the rear seat.
The BMW’s attractively lowered roofline that gracefully flows into the rear serves to define the four-door coupe, though it lessens headroom in the rear and truncates the trunk. For drivers who desire that style, these are small prices to pay for the evocative profile.
They tend to be folks who don’t use their back seats all that much but still want to have rear-door access as needed. The Gran Coupe has adequate space for four, five in a pinch.
The Gran Coupe also commands a significant premium of about $12,000 more than a comparable 5-Series sedan, which basically gives you the more-expressive styling and the compromised rear seat. So it had better be worth it to you.
The Gran Coupe is certainly a lovely number, a beautiful head turner that stands out with poise and sculpted splendor. As with the 5-Series, the rear-wheel-drive Gran Coupe is a crisply responsive car, and manual driver settings that vary from Comfort-plus to Sport-plus act to define just how crisp you want it. There’s also an EV setting that dials back performance in favor of fuel mileage.
I found the regular Sport setting to be to my liking for just about all driving conditions; the Comfort setting felt too pillowy even on the freeway. For me, the more-responsive throttle, steering, shifting and suspension of the Sport setting brought this car to life, although the ride can get rough over bumpy surfaces.
Sport-plus, which one might relegate to aggressive driving on the track, shuts down most of the electronic traction and stability controls for maximum driver involvement.
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTOMOTIVE
-
AUTOS: Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
The Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta, which scored the first Le Mans… -
AUTOS: Score One For Cadillac
Cadillac has truly knocked it out of the ballpark with the stunning… -
AUTOS: Mustang Movie Site Logs Ponycars In Film
More than 3,000 films, TV shows catalogued... -
SPEED Joins GarageMonkey, The New Social Destination For Gearheads…
SPEED is now on GarageMonkey, a social network for auto, moto and… -
F1: Villeneuve's Ferrari 312 T3 Remembered
The Ferrari 312 T3 was used by Gilles Villeneuve to win the Canadian… -
AUTOS: 2014 Chevy SS Priced At $44,470
GM's full-size not just for police... -
AUTOS: Porsche Reveals 911 50th Anniversary Edition
Museum exhibit joins limited-edition model... - More News
