Those who expected BMW to build an M version of the 4-Series Gran Coupe will be disappointed to learn that the automaker doesn’t have plans for such a model. Despite having built the M6 Gran Coupe, the BMW M GmbH division will not build an M4 Gran Coupe any time soon.
“That is a negative. It was definitely considered, but there is no plan to build an M4 Gran Coupe,” BMW M GmbH’s sales boss Jörg Bartels was quoted by Cars Guide. “Part of the reason is expected production volume, but also the 4-Series Gran Coupe is built in a different factory to both the 3-Series and 4 Series, so there is a lot of challenges there,” the executive added.
The F30 BMW 3-Series sedan and F80 M3 sedan are built in BMW’s Regensburg plant, while the F32 4-Series Coupe and F82 M4 Coupe are built in the Munich plant. The BMW 4-Series Coupe is produced at the Dingolfing factory.
According to Bartels, the numbers don’t add up for retooling a third German plant to assemble the M models’ series of bespoke drivetrain and structural elements, although the 4-Series Gran Coupe shares its wheelbase and platform with the 3-Series Sedan and 4-Series Coupe.
The BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo won’t get an M version either, but that comes as no surprise given that the larger 5-Series Gran Turismo never received an M variant either. This means that, at least for the foreseeable future, the mid-size BMW M family will be restricted to three models: M3 sedan, M4 Coupe and M4 Convertible.
By Dan Mihalascu
Note: BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe renderings by X-Tomi and DesignRM
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