Würzburg, November 19, 2008

With the end of the four-door Gran Turismo, which was to be positioned above the 7 Series in the market, two top-of-the-range engines are also up for grabs, reports the trade journal "Automobil Industrie" in its current issue.

Based on the "Concept CS" study, the flagship was to be offered with a 460 hp V10 turbodiesel engine and a 620 hp V12 biturbo petrol engine. According to BMW engineers, the engines are "as good as fully developed".

The engines could theoretically also be used in other BMW models. Following the discontinuation of the hard-to-sell V8 turbodiesels in the BMW 7 Series predecessor generation, BMW now only offers 4- and 6-cylinder diesel engines. Competitor brand Audi is currently launching a 500 hp V12 turbodiesel on the market.

With the end of the four-door Gran Turismo, a two-door sports car based on the same architecture but with its own unique design is also unlikely to be realized. It was to be positioned well above the 6 Series on the market and give the brand a similar aura to the M1 sports car developed jointly with Lamborghini 30 years ago.

Gerhard Richter, who had previously been rumored to have ambitions to become head of the high-performance subsidiary, was in charge of the project at M GmbH. After Ludwig Willisch took over as head of M GmbH, Richter was given responsibility for the development of the Gran Turismo, which was described as an "extremely important project" for the brand.

The Gran Turismo was to compete against the upcoming Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide models, as well as the Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG and various Bentley models.



Please cite the source "Automobil Industrie" when publishing.



"Automobil Industrie" is a monthly trade magazine published by Vogel Business Media, Würzburg, with a circulation of around 15,000 copies. "Automobil Industrie" addresses the managers of automobile manufacturers, suppliers, equipment suppliers and service providers. The trade magazine has been a must-read in the industry for over 50 years. Daily news from the entire automotive industry is available at www.automobil-industrie.vogel.de and in the regular newsletter.

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