What's the news?
BMW could be about to present its vision of an all-new range-topper, conceivably to be badged the '9 Series', at this month's Beijing Motor Show. That's according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
While Merc has offered models above the S-Class saloon (first with the standalone Maybach and now with the extra-long wheelbase S 600) the BMW range has always finished with the 7 Series - in terms of saloons in any case.
Having recently announced that its SUV range will soon be topped by the XL-sized X7, it now looks like BMW will do a similar thing with its saloon range. And it will be a four-door saloon, as BMW's naming structure means odd numbers for saloons and even ones for sportier models like coupés. Which actually gives us an inkling of what the 9 Series may look like; remember the Pininfarina penned Gran Lusso Coupé concept? That could yet become the 9 Series' sportier side, competing directly with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé.
Anything else?
If the 9 Series is given the green light it could go into production as early as 2016, aimed primarily at Chinese and Middle Eastern markets. Its architecture is said to be a new lightweight modular platform that will underpin many future BMW Group models including the replacement for the Rolls-Royce Phantom. The first car we are likely to see with the new platform is the next generation 7 Series with the platform stretched for the proposed 9 Series.
Paul Healy - 4 Apr 2014