BMW enters the oxymoronic “four-door coupé” class

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seven years late to the party, Germany's BMW released a bunch of photos this week of its new 6 Series Gran Coupé, yet another knock-off of the original 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS “four-door coupé”.

 Whoa. “Four-door coupé”? What in the name of Chris Bangle, you may be asking, is that? In short, it’s a swoopy-roof version of an existing five-passenger sedan (or in the case of Porsche's Panamera, the Cayenne SUV). The formula was set by the first ‘Benz CLS. It used an existing E-Class four-door sedan chassis, but with a swooshier roofline and profile, took out the E's middle rear seat, and then charged a hefty premium (today, an E 550 costs $74,500, a CLS: $84,500)—ka-ching!

 

As you can imagine, the copycat "four-door coupés" started to arrive from rival German firms looking to cash in as well. First there was the Cayenne-based Porsche Panamera for 2010, then the Audi 6-based A7 Sportback just last year, and finally this year’s BMW 5 Series-based 6 Series Gran Coupe.

 

As I’ve whined in the past, calling these sedans “coupés” is a bit of a stretch. There’s the whole issue of four doors and B-pillars that don't start ringing any coupé bells in my head.

 

Targeted at “empty nesters”, which one of the four German “four-door coupes”, pictured above, most appeals to you?

 

Or is the idea of a calling anything on four wheels with four-doors a "coupé" simply oxymoronic?

 

 

Comments

[Sorin]

Actually, I like the new 6 gran coupe the most out of the 4 presented here; the 2-door 6 series was a bit too big for a coupé; the four-door coupé is well balanced, body wise. This design is more appealing for a BMW, in my view, than X6 or 5GT for example.

[Jordan]

Tried all of them except the 6-series. The CLS63, Panamera Turbo, and A7. The one I'd really want most is the Panamera turbo, although just the 'S' would suffice. That all might change with the S7 coming out next year though. The A7 is still lacking in terms of power compared to the others, but then it really isn't a fair comparison until the S7 is out.

[bmw repair las vegas]

I wouldn't be asking that. I had an Infiniti G35 4-door coupe.

[Chevy HHR cold air intake]

Look at the good side. It can seat more people.