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BMW previews 2020 8 Series Gran Coupe

BMW previews 2020 8 Series Gran Coupe

It will pick up where the 6 Series Gran Coupe left off.

BMW released a dark teaser image to preview a new variant of the born-again 8 Series named Gran Coupe. The model is scheduled to make its debut during the summer of 2019, and go on sale in time for the 2020 model year.

We'll wait until we see the 8 Series in the metal to decide whether it's Gran, but we're certain it's not a coupe; at least not in the literal sense of the term. It's a sleek-looking four-door sedan with a fastback-like roof line. As its name suggests, it was developed to pick up where the 6 Series Gran Coupe left off.

The teaser image hides most of the car's design, though we've tweaked it to make it a little more revealing, but earlier spy shots suggest it will share many styling cues with the existing coupe and convertible variants of the 8 Series. It will be much bigger, though; as we previously reported, its footprint could be nearly as big as the 7 Series'. The dashboard will come from the two-door 8s, too, meaning it will feature a 10.2-inch touch screen that runs BMW's iDrive 7 infotainment system, and a 12.3-inch driver-configurable screen instead of an analog instrument cluster.

While technical specifications haven't been released yet, we expect the Gran Coupe will share a twin-turbocharged, 4.4-liter V8 engine with coupe and the convertible models. It will deliver at least 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque to the four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The sprint from zero to 60 mph will take approximately four seconds.

BMW will expand the Gran Coupe line-up with a 600-horsepower, M-tuned model named M8 later in the production run. At the other end of the spectrum, an 840i powered by a straight-six engine will give buyers a cheaper alternative to the V8s.

The 2020 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe will break cover this summer. When it arrives, it will compete in the same segment as the Audi A7 and its high-performance off-shoots, the Mercedes-AMG GT sedan, and the Porsche Panamera.