You know how it goes with M cars: the estate version (if it happens) is cooler than the saloon, the saloon is cooler than the coupe, and everything is cooler than the cabrio. They're the rules. See the unbridled delirium around M5 Tourings, homebrew M3 wagons and similar machines which deviate from the two-door M car norm.

Another could be joining the ranks soon, with Autocar suggesting an M2 Gran Coupe could become a reality, to provide a four-door rival to cars like the Audi RS3 and Mercedes-AMG CLA45. The rumours have come about with the emergence of new spy shots of the standard 2 Series Gran Coupe, with that model likely to arrive later this year. BMW of course has some form here, the two-door 6 Series (and M6) spawning Gran Coupe equivalents. The 4 Series coupe does have a four-door equivalent as well, though not an M4 yet.

As for what the M2 GC might be, Autocar's intel thus far is implying that the car would use the original M2's 370hp N55 straight-six turbo, rather than the S55 now found in the M2 Competition. Presumably this would be to leave some headroom to the two-door Comp as the flagship for now, though it would be surprising if a four-door version didn't happen in time.

Besides that expect a small weight gain to account for the additional doors - as a point of reference a 4 Series GC is 50kg more than a regular coupe - as well as fractional increases in length, wheelbase and interior dimensions. With the new G20 3 Series growing over its F30 predecessor in length, width, height and wheelbase - which will naturally carry over into the next M3 - the scope is there for the M2 GC to occupy the four-door niche once occupied by the now-larger car.

It all makes quite a lot of sense then, with a space being freed up in the range, a regular model imminent and the running gear already in the empire. Whether an M2 Gran Coupe actually happens, though, remains to be seen - count us amongst one of the (hopefully many) interested parties.

Images: S.Baldauf/S.B. Medien