BMW has announced it will unveil the third and final member of its 4 Series range, the new four-door 4 Series Gran Coupe, at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Now, the eagle-eyed amongst us will probably be asking: "Hold on, isn't the 3 Series the four-door version of the 4 Series?" Well, the answer to this is yes... and no.
Whereas the 3 Series is just your standard, run-of-the-mill saloon, the 4 Series Gran Coupe is a five-door liftback in the same vein as the Audi A5 Sportback. This makes the Gran Coupe a more practical proposition than the 3 Series and BMW claims this will make the car more appealing to younger buyers.
At 4638mm long, 1825mm wide and 1389mm tall, the 4 Series Gran Coupe is wider and lower than the 3 Series, giving the car a sleeker profile than the saloon. And while it's identical in length and width to the 4 Series Coupe, BMW has added 12mm to the height and 112mm to the length of the roof to improve rear headroom.
The 4 Series Gran Coupe's big selling point, however, is the liftback-style tailgate which can be opened automatically, via either the key fob or a foot-operated sensor under the rear bumper, to reveal a 480-litre load bay which can be extended to 1,300 litres by folding the rear seats down. BMW claims that the extra doors and powered tailgate make the 4 Series Gran Coupe "marginally heavier" than the Coupe.
There'll be five engine choices on offer from launch, with a choice between six-speed manual and optional eight-speed automatic gearboxes.
The petrol line-up consists of the entry-level 181bhp 420i, the 242bhp 428i and the top-of-the-range 302bhp 435i. The two diesel models are the 141bhp 418d and the 181bhp 420d. The 435i will complete the 0-62mph sprint in 5.2 seconds and return 39.8mpg, while the 418d will hit 62mph in 9.2 seconds and return 62.8mpg and 118g/km of CO2.
More powerful 430d and 435d models are expected to join the range later this year and it's likely that BMW will consider building an M4 Gran Coupe.
Prices for the 4 Series Gran Coupe will start from £29,420 for the 420i, rising to £41,655 for the 435i M Sport when the car goes on sale in June.
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