International - The unabating rise of the SUV has brought with it many consequences, one of which is a continuous decrease in market share for conventional cars. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the two-door market for coupes and cabriolets.
However, rather than giving up on this oh-so-beautiful automotive format, German carmakers are instead rationalising their two-door ranges. For instance, Mercedes-Benz is said to be working on a new CLE range that will replace both the C-Class and E-Class coupe and cabriolet models, and now it appears that BMW has the same idea.
According to Australian website WhichCar, sources from Munich have indicated that the BMW 6 Series is set to be relaunched as a two-door line-up around 2026, replacing both the 4 Series and 8 Series. It’s not clear whether a 6 Series Gran Coupe four-door would be offered, but the report does state that the 8 Series Gran Coupe is likely to survive, albeit as an offshoot of the next-generation 7 Series family.
The BMW 6 Series was originally introduced as a flagship coupe in 1976 and it remained in production until the late 1980s. It wasn’t until 2003 that BMW introduced a second generation model, which in 2011 evolved into a third-generation that also spawned a four-door Gran Coupe.
Whilst the current 8 Series effectively replaced the model series, the 6 Series nameplate is still used on an MPV-inspired Gran Turismo model, which replaced the 5 Series GT. The latest 6 GT has however been discontinued in many major markets, although it is still listed for sale in Germany. Somehow we can’t imagine it surviving for much longer.
The rationalisation of BMW’s current internal combustion models is inevitable, given the huge amounts of money that the company is investing in an electric future. However, BMW is one of the few companies that doesn’t appear to be giving up on ICE cars any time soon.
In 2020 BMW's R&D chief Klaus Froehlich was quoted as saying that BMW plans to continue producing petrol engines for at least another 30 years.
More recent reports state that BMW has invested in a new generation of six-cylinder and V8 petrol and diesel engines, which are expected to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. The V12, however, is currently in the departure lounge, with BMW expected to produce its last 12-cylinder car around the middle of this year.
Core models such as the 3 Series are expected to live on in new generations, however, in parallel to that BMW is also expected to launch an all-electric 3 Series in 2025, which will be built on a brand new dedicated EV platform, Autocar reported last year.
The new architecture is dubbed ‘Neue Klasse EV’ and it will spawn a number of new-generation products, including SUVs.