MUNICH: BMW went and did a "Gran Coupe" on the 2 Series, which refers to a 4-door version of the car for better practicality.
The company announced today it's bringing the 2 Series Gran Coupe to showrooms soon. The Gran Coupe variant is BMW's attempt to compete with the Mercedes CLA and the Audi A3.
The new model will make its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November and market launch will start next March.
BMW's marketing boys says the Gran Coupe styling "injects a fresh dose of individuality, aesthetic appeal and emotional engagement, backed up by innovative control/operation and connectivity tech, excellent everyday usability and the dynamic capability."
Highlights of the car include the stretched silhouette, the four frameless side windows and the rear lights extending well into the centre of the rear end, merging into a High-gloss Black band that runs up to and encircles the centrally located BMW badge.
The 2 Series Gran Coupe measures 4,526mm in length and 1,800mm in width, and stands 1,420mm tall. BMW claims that despite its low-slung appearance, passengers are well catered for space-wise, thanks to the 2,670-mm wheelbase. Plus, the 430-litre load compartment can be expanded in various ways.
Full LED headlights are slightly angled forming the prominent BMW four-eyed face, draw attention to the familiar BMW kidney grille, which takes the form of a large and connected element.
The 2 Series Gran Coupe is a front-wheel-drive car, like the 1 Series.
Standard specification for the sporty M235i xDrive range-topper includes xDrive all-wheel drive, a mechanical Torsen limited-slip differential, M Sport steering and M Sport brakes. The eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission also features a Launch Control mode.
The three-dimensional mesh replacing the bars in the kidney grille is inspired by racing cars and adds a classy visual feature.
The car features a near-actuator wheel slip limitation (ARB) tech seen in the i3s that allows wheel slip to be controlled much more sensitively and swiftly than before.
ARB is assisted by the standard yaw moment distribution system BMW Performance Control, which increases handling agility by intelligently applying the brakes at the wheels on the inside of the bend before the slip threshold has been reached and ensures neutral steering behaviour.
As well as the M235i xDrive model, customers can choose from five equipment lines: Basic, Advantage, Sport Line, Luxury Line and M Sport.
One diesel and two petrol engines are available at launch: a three-cylinder petrol with 140hp in the 218i, a 190hp four-cylinder diesel unit in the 220d and BMW's most powerful four-cylinder engine – developing 306hp – in the M235i xDrive. All engines comply with Euro 6d-TEMP emissions standard.
The 228i xDrive with two-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 231hp is only available in the US market.
The 2 Series Gran Coupe benefits from various driver assistance systems filtering down from higher models. The Lane Departure Warning system with active lane return and collision and pedestrian warning with city braking function are fitted as standard in Europe, while Active Cruise Control, the Driving Assistant including Lane Change Warning, rear collision warning and crossing traffic warning, plus the innovative reversing assistant are all available as options.
The car can be locked and unlocked from a smartphone if the optional BMW Digital Key is specified. The engine starts as soon as the smartphone is placed in its tray.
The BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is part of the control/operating concept. As a "BMW expert", this digital character can learn routines and habits and subsequently apply them in the appropriate context. He can also provide casual conversation, throwing in the occasional joke or relating interesting stories.
Connected Navigation services allow internal and external information to be factored into route planning. The 2 Series Gran Coupe drivers will be able to send destinations from various apps straight to their car’s navigation system, store and sync them.
