Preview: Can the New BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe Live Up to its Name?

gran lusso coupe

The word “Lusso,” or “luxury” in Italian, has followed the names of a select few cars in the automotive world, one of which is the phenomenal Ferrari 250 GT Lusso pictured below. Styled by the famous Pininfarina design house, the 250 GT embodied the essence of a grand-tourer car, with opulent luxury, a comfortable ride, and performance to match. But with Pininfarina and BMW group pairing up to create the newly-debuted Gran Lusso Coupe Concept, has the Lusso name lost its magic? Or have the engineers at two of the most successful automotive corporations in the world struck gold once again?

800px-Ferrari_250_GT_Lusso_Berlinetta

According to BMW, the Gran Lusso Coupe will receive the current 760Li’s 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 that pumps out a massive 535 horsepower and and 550 lb.-ft or torque. With such a massive amount of torque, expect 0-60 times to come in somewhere around the current 760Li’s 4.3 seconds – blazingly fast for such a large vehicle. Even the concept’s engine type is on par with “Lusso” cars of the past; the 250 GT Lusso also used a V12, though Italian-built and displacing only three liters.
129812_P90123654_highRes

However, the Gran Lusso Coupe looks and feels most like a true “Lusso” car outside of the engine bay. A sumptuous, classically BMW interior with contrasting hides graces this coupe, as do New Zealand-sourced kauri wood accents that BMW claims are nearly 50,000 years old. The signature BMW twin-kidney grille and cat-eye LED DRLs remain on the sharp front end of the Gran Lusso, though its front elevation looks more like an Audi A7 than any BMW product in recent memory. The lines are sharp and angular all the way back to the flowing rear end and sleek taillights, where they soften up to create a sense of constant motion in the design, a cue that the 250 GT Lusso also incorporated.

The Gran Lusso Coupe marks the first time that the famed Pininfarina firm and BMW group have joined forces to create a prototype vehicle, and the result is quite promising. BMW has introduced a new prototype each year at Villa d’Este since 2008, none of which have ever been destined for production. The same, unfortunately, goes for the Gran Lusso Coupe, according to BMW.
ku-xlarge

Despite its one-off status, however, the Gran Lusso Coupe definitely lends some insight into the future of the high-end BMW lineup, with BMW’s answer to the Mercedes CL-class successor likely to take cues from the concept. Most importantly, however, this newest BMW concept shows that the magic and passion of a “Lusso”-spec vehicle hasn’t been forgotten by a fast-paced automotive world.

Please enjoy this TFLcar.com video of a vehicle similar to the Gran Lusso Coupe, the current BMW M6.