With the arrival of the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe, the GT’s line-up is now complete.
The firm’s flagship machine is one of its most stylish creations yet in all forms and delivers big on driving excitement and luxury. For the untrained eye though, it might be difficult to understand the differences between the coupe and the Gran Coupe.
If you fall into that bracket, we’ve got you covered with a quick game of spot the difference…
Numbers of doors and seats
We know, this is quite obvious, but the big changes between the 8 Series coupe and Gran Coupe are in the number of doors and seats.
The former has two doors, while ‘Gran Coupe’ is BMWs way of adding an extra set to its regular coupes for easier access to the rear. The regular 8 Series is also denoted as a 2+2 — meaning it has four seats, though the rear row is mainly there as a ‘just in case’ scenario, with the goal of attracting drivers than can sacrifice a little practicality in the name of driving pleasure.
Meanwhile the Gran Coupe could well be the first ever ‘4+1’. No, this doesn’t mean there’s four seats up front and a sole captain’s chair in the back. Rather, its setup up like a four-seater — with broad and comfortable rear seats, with a belt system across the middle that allows the hump in between to act as a middle seat for shorter journeys.
Size of the car
The addition of two doors to the Gran Coupe means the car is larger overall too. Its 231mm longer, 30mm wider and 61mm taller than the coupe variant.
That’s no bad thing though — it’s all in the name of passenger comfort and creating a more luxurious long-distance cruiser. It’s much more likely a Gran Coupe buyer has kids to haul on a long-distance trip, while those after a coupe have less of a restriction on these things.
Design tweaks
Though the general design of both cars is near enough identical, the Gran Coupe sees a few minor tweaks to accommodate the look on a larger body. Headlights are positioned slightly higher, while the roofline is taller as a result of a slightly steeper windscreen.
A lightly-fettled cabin
The interiors of both 8 Series variants are near-enough identical — save for a slightly extended centre console. It now also incorporates two USB ports and climate controls for those in the back of the car, too.
