BMW has officially teased the 2 Series Gran Coupe, but that doesn't mean we haven't seen the car already. No, I'm not talking about the renders; it's the spy shots. Now, the so-called 'coupe' has again been spotted on video doing some cold-weather test runs. The car has followed the footsteps of its elder sibling, the 6 Series Gran Coupe, and will soon feature a slanted, coupe-style roof. Is this a success mantra, or just a counter-attack to keep up with rivals?

Brace Yourselves, the 2 Series Gran Coupe is Coming

Realizing that the car has already garnered a lot of attention through spy shots, BMW released an official teaser recently, and the coupe will officially be launched in November 2019 at the Los Angeles Motor Show. In less than a month after the Bavarian automaker revealed the teaser image, the car was spotted doing test runs in cold-weather conditions. The camouflage makes it hard to spot the design cues, but at least we now know the exact size and shape of the car. There seems to be an M version as well, with bigger wheels, black alloys, and rectangular exhaust.

BMW seems to have taken the 'form over function' phrase quite seriously. In an attempt to make the car look sporty, just like its two-door sibling, the automaker has compromised on the comfort and space aspects of the car. The extra doors should have made this a more practical three-box design car, but thanks to its small footprint, you will find yourself lurking for space inside, and especially in the rear. The sleeker, sloping roofline would eat into the headroom as well.

Top Execs Have A Conspiracy Theory In Mind

The 2 Series Gran Coupe is set to become the company's smallest four-door coupe, edging the 4 Series Gran Coupe for the title. BMW has taken a slightly different approach when compared to Mercedes here and has assigned the 2 Series Gran Coupe a double duty here. The German automaker's CLA is basically a stylish sedan version of the A-Class hatch. But Mercedes also has the A-Class sedan. BMW, on the other hand, has the 2 Series Gran coupe, which is essentially the four-door coupe version of its 2 Series coupe, but can also be considered as a sedan version of the 1 Series hatch. This means that BMW will take on both, the CLA as well as the A-Class sedan with the 2 Series Gran Coupe.

Interestingly, BMW has a 1 Series sedan that is exclusive to China. Does that mean that the 1 Series sedan could become a global car to pit it against the Mercedes A-Class sedan? BMW will soon be launching the new 1 Series, so expect big news to come soon if that's actually the case. What makes the 1 Series launch even more exciting is its M Performance version. The M135i is all set to feature the company's most powerful four-banger engine. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged engine will be offered with 302 horses.

What We Know Thus Far

The teaser image released by BMW shows the rear deck of the 2 Series Gran Coupe. The 8-Series-esque slim taillights look sharp, complementing the Hofmesiter Kink and the integrated spoiler quite well. These elements make it look like nothing but a BMW. Expect the four-door coupe to borrow design cues from the new 3 Series. Keeping the short overhangs and short footprint in mind, we expect this car to be a joy when chucked around mercilessly. Talking about the stuff under the hood, BMW will most certainly offer a plethora of engine options to choose from. The most obvious one will be the engine shared with the 2 Series - a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that could produce anywhere between 200-250 horses.

Europe-specific cars will also feature an earth-saving, 1.5-liter, three-cylinder engine that will focus on conserving fuel more than performance. The M trims could receive a 3.0-liter, six-banger that will likely produce 330 horses, whereas the top-of-the-line M2 could cream closer to 400 ponies. As for the diesel mills, which the U.S. market will not be blessed with, there could be a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces 150 horses in the entry-level trim and up to 230 ponies in the top trim.

As of now, the 2 Series is the only vehicle amongst its rivals that comes atop a rear-wheel-drive architecture. However, this is set to change soon as the Bavarian is already in the process of redesigning the platform to switch it to a front-wheel-drive configuration. The change will also affect the 1 Series. The 2 Series Gran Coupe will be offered with xDrive as well, and it is rumored that BMW will be launching only this all-wheel-drive version here and will skip the FWD. Coming to the pricing, we speculate it to be on par with the Mercedes CLA and the A-Class sedan. So, that means we are looking at a figure of $32,000 - give or take $1,000.

Further reading

Read our full speculative review on the 2020 BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW 2 Series Coupe.