[BMW News] This beauty is the result of a collaboration between BMW and Italian styling house, Pininfarina. Called the Gran Lusso Coupe, it has debuted at the very exclusive Concorso d’Eleganza Villa D’Este.
“The appeal of this collaboration with Pininfarina is that you get another, very different and special angle on facets like luxury and exclusivity,” notes Karim Habib, Head of BMW Design. “The Italian company, after all, has always been a byword for these criteria in particular, demonstrating time and again its keen sensitivity and exceptional finesse in these areas. In Pininfarina we have found the ideal partner to lend shape to this vehicle concept.”
So, while this is an undeniably stunning vehicle, there appears to be no production car spin-off in the near-future, even though a successor to the long dormant 8 Series has been mooted.
Sitting on 21-inch wheels and boasting short overhangs and very sleek lines, the typical BMW design elements have also been fine-tuned by the artists at Pininfarina. Note, for example, the new take on BMW’s traditional cat’s eye headlights. What’s under the hood? A V12 of undisclosed output.
Interestingly, although the interior at first appears to be little different to existing BMW designs, the devil is clearly in the details. All the wood elements in the cabin are sourced from a single piece of Kauri wood selected by the Italian timber experts of Riva 1920. Kauri wood has a unique grain and shifts in colour from gold to red to brown, depending on lighting and angle of view.
You can view a video of this car here