Perhaps the real ‘quiet Australians’ are those who love the look of the controversial new BMW 4 Series.
We know these people exist, and for those who dig the polarising new front end of BMW’s latest two-door but want a more practical body style, there’s a Gran Coupe on the way.
These spy photos show a 2021 4 Series Gran Coupe with its production headlights and tail lights and, though the front remains shrouded, it’s sure to receive the same plunging, vertical grille as the coupe and convertible.
Compared to the similarly-sized 3 Series sedan, the Gran Coupe has a longer and swoopier roof line and frameless doors.
It also sports the same flush-fitting, lift-up door handles as we’ve seen on its upcoming, all-electric i4 sibling.
This appears to be the range-topping M440i xDrive, with the Gran Coupe’s powertrain range likely to mirror its two-door siblings as the outgoing Gran Coupe did.
That means a choice of 420i, 430i and M440i xDrive variants, with diesel powertrains available in Europe, too.
The rear-wheel drive 420i and 430i both use a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, the former with 135kW of power and 300Nm of torque and the latter with 190kW and 400Nm.
The M440i xDrive upgrades to all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engine producing 285kW of power and 500Nm of torque.
It also features a more aggressively-styled front bumper with large intakes, M4-style wing mirrors, rhomboid exhaust tip finishers, larger alloy wheels, lower profile tyres, and more road-hugging suspension.
With BMW’s confirmation of the M3 Touring, that leaves the Gran Coupe as the only body style remaining in the 3 and 4 Series extended family, Asian-market 3 Series long-wheelbase sedan aside, that hasn’t been confirmed for the full M treatment.
The new 4 Series Gran Coupe will also share its five-door fastback body with the i4 EV.
While Mercedes-Benz is rolling out a raft of models on its new standalone electric vehicle architecture, BMW has confirmed just one model on a bespoke electric architecture: the new iX SUV.
Instead, BMW is introducing electric versions of cars on its internal combustion-powered CLAR platform like the i4. The next-generation 7 Series limousine is expected to get an i7 electric alternative too.
MORE: BMW 4 Series news and reviews
MORE: BMW news and reviews
