BMW.. has a habit of stretching definitions, as it did when it introduced a stretched version of the old 6-Series coupe, adding a pair of extra doors and dubbing it a “Gran Coupe.”

Since then, it has expanded the array of four-door coupes that have fleshed out its line-up. The new 2020 BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe is BMW’s latest offering.

....For those who want more power, however, the new Gran Coupe comes with a brutish, 523-horsepower twin-turbo V-8..............................









Based on the two-door model introduced just a year ago, the new model offers more space and easier entry, as well as the first inline-six engine option available for the 8-Series line. The sporty M850i version will also become one of the automaker’s most expensive models ever when it reaches showrooms in September, pushing into six-figure territory when all the option boxes are checked.

Starting price of $85,895

When it reaches U.S. showrooms, expect a starting price of $85,895 for the 840i and $88,705 for the 840i xDrive. The M850i will start at $109,895. BMW is by no means the only luxury automaker that has tried to blur the lines between sedans and coupes. If anything, Mercedes-Benz was a pioneer with the original, CLS model launched in 2004. Mercedes has since added several other models following this design theme, including the smaller CLA. Audi’s A7 is another popular competitor, with Porsche offering its Panamera model and Aston Martin weighing in with the Rapide. But none of the competitors offers as broad a range as BMW does with its various Gran Coupe options. The Tesla Model S, which more precisely targets the BMW 7-Series, has been drawing from potential 8-Series buyers, auto industry analysts say. The debut of BMW’s Gran Coupe comes almost exactly a year after BMW revealed the two-door version of the 8-Series, reviving a nameplate it abandoned nearly two decades ago and providing a more sporty alternative to the familiar 7-Series sedan flagship.

Coupes lose ground