As BMW expands its model range into ever more obscure niches, its M performance division has to decide which paths to follow.
One has already proven to be a dead end. BMW won’t build an M4 Gran Coupe, M sales boss Jörg Bartels told Australia’s CarsGuide.
In case you lost your Bimmer spotting guide, the Gran Coupe is a four-door model like the 3 Series sedan, but with a lower, coupe-like roofline, hence the 4 Series designation.
BMW makes an M version of the larger 6 Series Gran Coupe, but there are a few reasons why its little brother won’t get the same treatment.
The low sales volumes of an M4 Gran Coupe just wouldn’t make it worthwhile for BMW, and since the model is built at a different plant than other 3 Series and 4 Series models, the logistics would be tricky.
It may seem like a bit of a loss at first, but the Gran Coupe’s styling is so similar to that of the 3 Series sedan that the two models are almost interchangeable. An M4 Gran Coupe would have just been a slightly better looking version of the M3.
Bartels also confirmed that BMW won’t make an M version of the 3 Series Gran Turismo hatchback, not that anyone wanted one in the first place.
So M customers will have to stick with the traditional two-door coupe, convertible, and sedan. Those three models will probably serve their needs just fine, although and M3 wagon would be cool…
