BMW has followed through with its promise to preview
the 2-Series Gran Coupe and has done so by releasing dozens of images of the
car wrapped in colorful camouflage. BMW hasn’t released all that many details about the
vehicle but we do know that it will celebrate its world premiere at the Los
Angeles Auto Show towards the end of November.
The first thing to note about the 2-Series Gran
Coupe is that it is underpinned by the same front-wheel drive architecture as
the new 1-Series. The car will be sold in a number of different forms,
including an M235i xDrive variant with all-wheel drive and the same 306 hp,
turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the M135i.
BMW will outfit this model with a newly developed
mechanical Torsen limited-slip differential and the same near-actuator wheel
slip limitation (ARB) technology as the electric i3s. This system uses a slip
controller positioned directly in the engine control unit rather than in the
control unit for the Dynamic Stability Control system, eliminating long signal
paths meaning important information is relayed up to three times faster.
The German car manufacturer says the “2 Series Gran
Coupe has been conceived as a global offering and represents an appealing
addition to the model line-up, in particular in markets where the sedan body style
enjoys strong popularity.” Interestingly, BMW will reportedly build the next-generation 2-Series
coupe and convertible versions on a rear-wheel drive platform, meaning the
second-gen M2 will be just as tail-happy as the current model.
