2020 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe set to challenge Audi A5 Sportback

• Next 4 Series Gran Coupe nearing production
• Test car’s lighter camouflage reveals styling details
• Likely to reach showrooms early next year

The next BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is in development and due to be fully revealed in the next few months. Set to renew its rivalry with the Mercedes CLA, Audi A5 Sportback and Volkswagen Arteon, the 4 Series Gran Coupe will make its debut before the year is out, with orders opening shortly after.

We’ve already seen the BMW 4 Series Coupe and 4 Series Convertible in development, and now it’s the turn of the 4 Series Gran Coupe. It’s a four-door version of the coupe, and offers a slinkier shape than the BMW 3 Series saloon on which it’s based. This time around, it’ll be joined by the BMW i4 electric saloon, which will share most of the Gran Coupe’s styling, if not its powertrain.

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The lighter camouflage applied to this prototype shows some of the finer styling details we can expect from the final production model. We see slim, pointy new headlights that look quite similar to those fitted to the Alfa Romeo Giulia, while the number plate bar hides the full-height grilles we know are coming. The back end won’t look too different to the current model, but the brake light clusters, exhaust pipes, quarter-light windows and bumper will all be tweaked.

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While the styling might be different to the 3 Series, the interior is expected to be carried over almost completely. That’s good news; the inside of the 3 Series feels like a scaled-down BMW 5 Series and shares plenty of its technology. The 4 Series Gran Coupe may not offer all of the trim levels that the 3 Series does, but all cars will get luxuries like sat nav, heated front seats, cruise control and all-round parking sensors.

The engine range is likely to feature many of the same options as the 3 Series, too. It’s thought that only the more powerful engines will be available in the 4 Series Gran Coupe, so we’d expect the line-up to include the ‘20d’ and ‘30d’ engines, while petrols will be badged ‘420i’, ‘430i’ and ‘M440i’. Most will come with the choice of rear-wheel drive or BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system.

BMW expects one of the biggest-selling 3 Series models to be the plug-in hybrid 330e, and its ambition to reduce its total emissions might mean a 4 Series PHEV is in the pipeline. For those that don’t worry about fuel consumption, an M4 Gran Coupe could join the range for the first time too.

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