Advertisement

2014 BMW M6 Gran Coupe brings two extra doors via speedy delivery

Let's clear this up: The BMW 6-Series was launched as a coupe version of the 5-Series sedan. BMW expanded it to include the 6-Series Gran Coupe, which has four doors, but is still a 6-Series. And next year, BMW will bring to these shores the M6 Gran Coupe, which has the 560-hp twin-turbo V-8 from the M6 coupe and the M5 sedan, which is a few inches longer and taller than the M6 and will likely cost far less. Glad we could clarify all that.

The real difference BMW will try to capitalize on with the M6 is the demand for a livable sports luxury sedan, calling on all those BMW tire kickers who didn't want to shift their own gears in the M5. While the M5 is manual only, the M6 comes solely with BMW's 7-speed automatic transmission, which helps rocket the M6 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds. All of the coupe M6's tricks translate over to the Gran Coupe -- carbon-fiber roof, electronic rear differential and even optional ceramic brakes, new for 2013.

But the M6 Gran Coupe's arrival will make for some tough choices among the country club sport sedan set. There's the Jaguar XFR, the Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG and the Audi S6 just for starters, with new models from Infiniti and, likely, Cadillac not far behind. BMW didn't put an official price on the M6 Gran Coupe today, but given that the regular M6 starts just above $100,000, the Gran Coupe will likely get a figure in the same neighborhood.