Four-Cylinder 630i Opens The New 6 Series Gran Turismo Range

BMW has revealed the car that will continue the 6 Series nameplate in place of the discontinued Gran Coupé, but it’s actually a direct replacement for the 5 Series GT.

Called the 6 Series Gran Turismo, it’s still a five-door, five-seat coupe-slash-family-car, but it’s longer, lower and lighter than before. The new car is 87mm longer, loses 21mm in height and the rear end is now 64mm lower. Width stays the same, which is lucky if you’ve got to park it.

Based on the same platform that underpins the 5 Series, 7 Series and upcoming 8 Series, it even shares its face with the old 5 Series GT. The difference, BMW says, is a sportier, more athletic stance as demonstrated by very steeply-raked A-pillars and those lower buttocks.

On the other hand, the new 6 Gran Turismo has a load more space than the old 5 Series GT; a hefty 110 litres more at a total of 610. That’s the same as a Skoda Octavia estate, if you’re interested. Big, then.

Onto more interesting numbers, now, and the new car is as much as 115kg lighter than the 5 GT, like for like. Essentially, BMW seems to spend half the press release bashing the defunct 5 GT, which you can no longer buy new except from dealer stock.

The Gran Turismo range starts with the 630i; a 254bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol that should be good for 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds and an average of 43.4mpg. The 640i adds two pots to the block and raises power to 335bhp, taking a second off the 0-62mph time in the process, but is about 8mpg worse off. On the diesel side there’s a 3.0-litre straight-six 630d with the option of xDrive four-wheel drive. It sends 261bhp and 457lb ft to the wheels.

Although it doesn’t look it, the Gran Turismo is ridiculously aerodynamic. An automatically-extending rear spoiler that activates above 75mph helps it achieve a drag coefficient of just 0.25, despite being the size of the Death Star.

Clever tech under the skin includes air suspension with adjustable ride height, providing 20mm of extra clearance if you head off-road. On the other side of the coin, flipping the car into Sport mode lowers the suspension by 10mm.

The usual trimmings are either included or optional. One of the highlights will be a 1400W Bowers and Wilkins stereo with surround sound and – gasp – 16 partially-illuminated speakers. There are also new safety systems like Crossroads and Wrong Way warnings, which are meant to alert you if you try to turn down a road you’re not legally supposed to, or if you try to make a manoeuvre where another lane of traffic has priority. We’ll reserve judgement on these until we’ve seen the quality of the data they’re based on…