I almost doesn’t matter what flagship car a brand has, journalists and enthusiasts will always want to know if there’s room for a more premium, more expensive and, ultimately, more exciting car to replace it. In the case of BMW and its new 8 Series, there may actually be something to sit above it in the future. According to a new report from Autocar, a flagship BMW 9 Series may be in the works to take on Mercedes-Maybach.
When asked about a possible BMW 9 Series, the brand’s design chief Adrian van Hooydonk said “Let’s say this: we won’t stop here [with the 8 Series]. Obviously our job is to have more ideas than the company can build, because the other way round would be very bad.”
We hear a lot about the year 2021 from BMW, as that’s when a lot of new and exciting cars will be debuting. However, van Hooydonk admits that BMW is looking far past that. “My team and I are now looking at 2021 and beyond – as far out as 2030. We have a lot of plans.”
If such a car were to exist, it’s likely that it would be an ultra-premium model designed to compete in the most luxurious of segments. It’s also said that a BMW 9 Series would be an ultra high-end four-door coupe, likely dubbed a Gran Coupe. That means it would compete with cars like the Mercedes-Maybach S600, upcoming Aston Martin RapidE and maybe even the Bentley Continental GT.
Now, maybe BMW doesn’t need to play in that segment, being that it has Rolls Royce for that and the next-gen Wraith could be such a car. Though, it would be exciting to see a BMW 9 Series that sits way above everything else in the BMW lineup and really flexes its luxury muscles. Nothing is for certain at the moment but at least we know it’s possible.
[Source: Autocar]
