2013 BMW 640i Gran Coupé Test Drive

On-Sale Date: Late June

Price: $76,895

Competitors: Mercedes-Benz CLS, Audi A7, First Class Mediterranean Cruises

Powertrain: 320-hp, twin-turbo, 3.0-liter inline-6, eight-speed automated manual, RWD

EPA Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 20/30

What?s New: From the windshield forward, this new 6-Series is almost identical to its two-door 640i brother, the only difference being the shape of the plastic front bumper cover. But from the windshield back, the Gran Coup? is its own four-door thing and rides on a 4.4-inch longer wheelbase. The Gran Coup? comes with BMW?s EfficientDynamics package of regenerative braking, start?stop engine controls, and a supplemental battery pack, though not its own electric motor; that tech combines to save gas in stop-and-go crawls.

The first Gran Coup?s to land in America will be 640i models powered by the twin-turbo direct injection 3.0-liter straight six BMW uses in other vehicles. BMW claims a swift 5.4-second 0?100 kph (62 mph) time for the 640i version. The V-8-powered 650i Gran Coup? should show up before 2013.

Tech Tidbit: Steel, aluminum, and plastic are all used in the 640i Gran Coup??s structure. The high-strength steel is found in areas such as the rear fenders and the stampings around the doors. Aluminum is used on door skins to shave weight. And the front fenders are plastic, to take hits with minimal damage.

Driving Character: Dial up the Comfort mode on the steering, suspension, and transmission and this beast is silken over pavement but not too interesting to drive. Shut down the nanny tech, however, by choosing the Sport or Sport Plus settings wherever you can and it becomes an engaging, athletic, and entertaining dance partner.

Using the shiftable eight-speed automatic to effect, the 640i Gran Coup? always feels lithe, able, and ready to rollick. Along California?s legendary Highway 33 it swept through long corners with a nice, flat bearing. In tight corners, if the driver uses the flappy paddles to put the car in the right gear, the car would push its nose a bit under braking and then rocket out when given some spur.

Inside, the Gran Coup??s driver faces the same dash and instrumentation as other 6-Series. That?s good in that everything is beautifully made. It?s bad in that there?s a steep learning curve to understanding BMW?s blizzard of wands, buttons, knobs, and i-Drive controls. To BMW?s credit, the driver has positive control over most of it, including the suspension settings and steering feel. But all those controls aren?t for the easily intimidated.

The Gran Coup? uses the same front seats used in the 6-Series convertible, though ?seats? seems too diminutive a word for describing these high-performance driving thrones. Throw in BMW?s great steering wheel that electrically adjusts for reach and height, and there simply aren?t much better driving environments.

Favorite Detail: There?s only one detail that matters with this car and that is its utterly gorgeous proportions. With a long hood and graceful near-fastback roof, this may be the best-looking four-door ever devised by Germans.

Driver?s Grievance: The traction-control system is annoyingly intrusive. If you forget to turn it off and try to accelerate hard out of a tight corner, it effectively shuts down the car. It?s almost dangerously disconcerting.

Bottom Line: In 1976, the then-new BMW 6-Series coupe faced a stiff challenge in following the, low-slung 3.0CS as the brand?s flagship two-door. It succeeded with a mix of superb styling and a chassis that combined excellent reflexes with long-range touring comfort. Thirty-six years later, the first four-door version of the 6 ? the 640i Gran Coup? ? uses essentially the same formula to earn its spot in the line.

In today?s context, the 640i Gran Coup??s 320 hp seems modest, but the engine is tuned to deliver its maximum torque consistently from 1300 to 4500 rpm, which results in effective and flexible thrust despite the fact that this engine is powering a more than 2-ton vehicle. Yeah, it?s another great driving BMW. The electric power steering is too numb to qualify as BMW?s best, but there?s still plenty of entertainment at the driver?s fingertips.

I hate the name. Gran Coup? sounds like one of those names Oldsmobile considered in the mid-1970s and rejected. But as dorky as the name is, the car itself is devastatingly beautiful, aggressive, and better-looking than even than the two-door. From its pointed prow to the curvaceous doors and on to the best roof line outside of Frank Gehry?s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the 640i Gran Coup? is delicious. It?s so handsome from the front that it ought to shame Mercedes into giving the CLS emergency rhinoplasty. It?s so sweet from the rear that Audi should immediately start redesigning the A7?s full-diaper rear bumper cover.

And looks matter with cars like this, since the 6-Series has virtually no dynamic advantages over BMW?s more conventional 5-Series sedan. In fact, the Gran Coup? shares its suspension design and powertrain components with the 5-Series. But the 5-Series sedans offer more rear leg room and head room with taller rear door openings that make getting in and out easier. So if style matters (and price doesn?t), the Gran Coup? is an easy choice. For practicality, it?s difficult to see choosing the 640i Gran Coup? over the 535i sedan.

BMW has been slicing its market niches ever thinner. It?s unlikely it will sell more than a few thousand Gran Coup?s every year. But this car seems more like a ?real? BMW than machines like the tall X6 or X5 or awkward 5-Series GT. And, dopey name or not, it?s the best-looking car BMW makes.

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