A grand drive with BMW's Gran Coupe

MANILA, Philippines - It takes just over 24 hours to fly to Sicily from Manila. And it turned out that due to some sort of schedule mishap, we arrived a day late, too, creating a very awkward moment with some of the executives from Munich. But they were very polite; partly because they are highly professional, and partly because, well, frankly speaking, BMW are hardly in the position to talk about lateness. At least not in this situation.

No offense, but Mercedes are deep into their second generation CLS, the A7 has been out since way back when, Maserati have milked the Quattroporte for all it’s worth, and the Panamera has been around long enough for its’ looks to actually grow on some people. Heck, even Aston Martin beat them to the four-door coupe punch.

But as they say, it’s better late than pregnant, and with just half a day to experience BMW’s first stab at this niche segment, we got stuck straight in to it. Normally, this delay would be enough reason for some journalists to throw a diva tantrum; but for any motoring journalist worth his heel and toe, this is just the kind of car you would want to make up some lost time with.

So let’s look at the positives, first. Being late may have cost them market share, but the upside is that it has also given BMW a ringside seat to all the action. They would have learned from the sloppy gearbox of the early Quattroportes, the balding effect from the early CLS that rubbed the hair out of the heads of taller rear seat passengers, and the visual assault that Porsche launched on us all with the Panamera.

To an R&D group, that’s precious stuff. And just five minutes into the drive, you could tell that BMW had made full use of the knowledge.

Sitting on a modified 5-series platform, unsurprisingly, the new P7,790,000 Gran Coupe shares the same handling characteristics with what is already arguably the best handling midsize sedan on earth and uses the same adaptive suspension and architecture, as well as regenerative braking to save on fuel.

Although more commonly associated with hybrids, the regenerative brakes of the Gran Coupe uses the kinetic energy released under braking to charge the car battery instead of relying on the engine to power the alternator to do the same task. This means lighter load, and theoretically at least, less consumption.

It would be difficult to measure its immediate effect in a test like ours, but combined with all the other BMW Efficient Dynamics, like auto start/stop function and an Eco Pro mode that changes the parameters of the gearbox, throttle and even climate control mapping, the 640i Gran Coupe clocked in a pretty impressive 24 mpg (10.1 kilometers per liter) when driven respectfully.

Now, floor the throttle in sports+ mode and you can mail those figures in to [email protected], because at 4300 pounds (200 more than an equivalent 5-series), you’ll need some very hard-to-pronounce technology to not burn your own private hole in the ozone layer.

And this is where the Gran Coupe starts becoming interesting. It is designed to be sportier, but I was not the only one among the international press that felt it could even be more comfortable than the 5-series—which in theory, should screw up the handling—but aside from slightly over-assisted steering in some modes, the Gran Coupe seems to manage a pretty outstanding Jekyll-and-Hyde act, giving you some sharp handling and surprising comfort.

The 8-speed box provides plenty of fun, and although nowhere near the responsiveness of DCT, seems more suited to this type of set up—although the decision for plastic shift paddles caused more than a few eyebrows to be raised.

Important thing is, it is comfortable when it needs to be and badass when it doesn’t. Every car these days claims this, but it will always come down to how well the electronics interpret the changing road conditions; and BMW’s active adaptive suspension is fluent in every language you need it to speak.

We could chew through my entire word count here debating the nuances of turn in, body roll, oversteer and understeer compared to the rest of the BMW family, or more importantly, its rivals, but the differences would be subjective and negligible; besides, once you get into the cockpit and start comparing interiors, it is game, set and match to the Gran Coupe.

I have seen expensive watches without this level of detail. Everything from the choice of leather and materials, to the flowing curves, to the dials, knobs, switches with subtle, yet clear illumination is nothing short of automotive art. The rear seat, too, is roomy and has decent headroom even for six-footers.

There’s an X-drive version in the 650i, but I sincerely doubt it could come up with enough benefit to justify the extra cost and weight. In rear-wheel drive form, the Gran Coupe keeps you involved in the drive. There’s a slightly artificial feel sometimes from the four-wheel steering, but you do get used to it; but if it came down to paying for the option, you could skip that box.

Like with all new BMWs these days, the Gran Coupe comes with a 10-inch-wide display, 3G connectivity, Facebook and Twitter apps, but it only seems to be compatible with the iPhone for now. Also, there was some concern that there was no provision for 4G, but one could make the same argument for our local carriers. So no big deal there.

Locally, we’ve confirmed that Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), the official distributor of BMW cars in the Philippines, will be bringing in the 640i and eventually the 650i, both with BMW’s new TwinPower, twin-scroll single turbo with direct injection technology and other intimidating marketing terms like Valvetronic.

There’s 315hp for the 640i and 440hp for the V8, which should do the job to 100km/h in 5.4 and 4.6 seconds, respectively. Many can make the argument that the CLS550 and perhaps even the Audi can do the same job for less, but cars like these are not about less times, but who can remain timeless.