German Car Zone

When BMW first rolled out the imposing CS Concept car at last year’s Shanghai Auto Show there were few that suspected a production version would ever be a possibility. But then we got confirmation a new BMW flagship was in the works, one that would be based on the new CS. Going by the name Gran Turismo, the new car will be a premium four-door coupe and combine the elements of both a high-performance sports car and a classic grand tourer.

Heading the project is 55-year old Gerhard Richter, a former BMW M engineer whose task it will be to see the car move from concept to production. Speaking with Automotive News, Richter explained that his first job is to decide which of the Concept CS design features will be carried over to the final version. One thing is for certain. The car will be longer and wider than the current 7-series flagship and it won’t arrive until after 2010.

Analysts from automotive research firm CSM Worldwide are predicting annual sales of around 15,000 units with pricing beyond that of the current 7-series, which itself can run up to about $150,000. For this kind of money, customers will get at least a V8 or V12 powertrain with the latest in BMW technology including an eight-speed automatic and possibly the carmaker’s new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in a high-performance variant.

By the time the new GT does arrive, the premium four-door coupe market will be starting to get a little crowded. Some of the cars it will have to compete with include the Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide, Audi A7 and the car that started it all, the Mercedes-Benz CLS class. In the meantime, click here to see a preview of what the final version could look like.





Source: Motor Authority >> M engineer gives details on new BMW flagship

Wonderful ......could be launched just in time for a global recession.

Not really.
It will be ready for a conjecture BOOM just after the recession.

Just like I predicted already in 2004 the year 2008-2010 will be devil's years. Economy wise.

The Golden years are over. The years of skinny cows are coming ... Yet I guess the people who can afford a $150k car won't be affected much.

Unfortunately I'm not one of them ...


PS: imagine ... E65 7er was premiered on 9/11 2001.

Huh? I thought the production 8er was going to be a (close to) carbon copy of the CS concept....???

That's not entirely true.

Project development manager has no authority to decide about the design. That's the task of

a) design department,
b) marketing department, and finally - most important:
c) Board of Management.

Richter task will be to try as hard as possible to transfer as many original design solutions to the production car without altering them much. Of course all within financial (project budget) & engineering possibilities (the production car has to meet certain eg. ergonomics, safety, etc standards).

So, he & his bosses (BMW "large cars" managers, certain members of Board of Management) will have the power to decide (or at least influence the decision) which part / solution is too expensive to be transfered into production car: first hearing arguments from designers, development engineers, marketing dept, financial department, purchasing team, production engineers, external development partners etc

And Richter will then steer the development of the car: from drawing boards & CAD models ... to the production.

That's the task of project development manager ... Not deciding about the design.




Project development manager is a helluva job ... You have to hear many arguments from different involved parties & at the end make the best product as possible giving the circumstances.

Yet ... By putting Richter (ex-M-division development chief) BMW clearly indicates which aspects of the GT they find most important.

Do you guys really think that this car will debut in 2009, to be seen on the showroom floors?

awsome news!!!

i really love the CS concept, looks sooo bad ass

If this car is based on the upcomming F01 platform, which i think it will, then development shouldn't take longer than 2 years.

If the Gran Turismo is to the F01 7er as the X6 is to the X5, 6er to the 5er, 3er cc to the 3er sedan, then 1.5 years max.

I think 2010 is the launch date. Around the F10 5er.