BMW is getting ready to
launch its more practical version, the 2-Series Gran Coupe. And just like the
hatch, it will be based on the FWD UKL platform, despite a new report from
Autoexpress claiming the opposite – that the new “2 Series Gran Coupe will
sport a rear-wheel drive platform” after speaking to BMW’s chief engineer Klaus
Fröhlich.
That much we know for sure since March, when Munich
teased the upcoming compact four-door sedan. According to CEO Harald Kruger,
the 2 GC “builds on the latest BMW front-wheel drive architecture and shares a
multitude of technological developments with the new 1-Series”, with its launch
due for the LA Show in November and sales set to commence in 2020.
The only RWD versions of the current 2-Series
are the Coupe and Cabriolet twins, so in all likelihood, the two-door model(s)
will retain the same mechanical layout separating themselves from the other
body-styles in the range.
Therefore, things are pretty clear: the 1-Series,
2-Series GC/minivans, X1/X2 pair (and various MINI models) will be based on the
more cost-effective, and space efficient, FWD / AWD UKL platform, while the new
2-Series Coupe, as well as the 3, 4, 5 etc., plus the larger SUVs, will use the
CLAR which stipulates that the same bulkhead be used, but allows for changes in
all dimensions, including the wheelbase, to accommodate the different shapes,
sizes and segments of BMW’s armada.
What will be common with the rest of the range will
be the engine lineup; or, at least, some of them, with a prime candidate for
the 2-Series Coupe being the turbo four that kicks out 306 PS and 450 Nm of torque in the 1-Series and X2 M135 – and, quite likely,
the 2-Series Gran Coupe too. And yes, we should also see BMW’s trademark
straight-six making its appearance too.
