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BMW bringing 9 Series concept to Beijing

It appears that BMW is ready to take another step upmarket with a new concept flagship luxury sedan at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of April. The showcar is said to preview the company's rumored 9 Series, a sedan that would be positioned against top trims of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, like the rumored S600 Maybach.
According to Automotive News Europe, the concept sedan wears styling language adapted from the curvaceous BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe (pictured above) shown at the 2013 Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance in May. It rides on BMW's new, modular platform - codenamed G11 - for the company's largest cars, an architecture also expected to be shared with the next 7 Series and future Rolls-Royce vehicles. It's rumored to bring the weight of the 7 closer to the 5 Series, which would be several hundred pounds lighter when comparing the base models of both current vehicles. We spotted the next-gen 7 Series testing over a year ago, and both it and the 9 Series are expected to go on sale in 2016.
Unfortunately, at the moment there is no official information about the concept. "We don't have any official news yet on anything in Beijing," Julian Arguelles, BMW USA spokesperson, tells Autoblog. However, it's heartening to think that BMW might be adapting the gorgeous shape of the Gran Lusso for production.

BMW working on DCT for its FWD cars?

Having introduced its first front-wheel drive products, a report in BMW Blog says that BMW is developing a dual-clutch transmission to use in some of those vehicles. If that is the case then BMW would be catching up to its competitors, with Mercedes-Benz using its 7G-DCT in models like the CLA, and Audi putting its six-speed S-tronic in the A3 and seven-speed S tronic in the A6. Acura and Hyundai use dual-clutch gearboxes in their model lineup as well. Right now the only self-shifting option in the front-wheel-drive-based BMW X1 is an Aisin-sourced eight-speed automatic, the one we described as "perfectly fine but not a standout" that requires "some prodding to coax a downshift." The eight-speed sport transmission will be an option in late 2016, but its paddle shifters and quicker gearchanges still won't be equal to a DCT. That latter possibility would give BMW a sportier avenue of development if it did wish to create something truly athletic out of the X1 – BMW Blog muses on an X1 M40i or an X1 M (you should be past the point of shock if this happens). The Mini range could also benefit, the JCW trims currently fitted with a six-speed sport automatic being obvious candidates. Assuming Munich engineers are on the case, it is predicted that we won't see this transmission for at least two years.

BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and Concept 90 pics from Villa d'Este

Royalty and the ultra-wealthy rubbed damp shoulders at this past weekend's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's Lake Como, but even the rain couldn't extinguish the excitement generated by the millions of dollars of cars and bikes on display. Nowhere was this more true than with BMW, which marked the occasion with the reveal of two stunning concepts with six wheels between them - the shark-nosed Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe and the retrosexual Concept 90 motorcycle.
Conceived with Italian design house Pininfarina, the Gran Lusso Coupe is a power broker on 21-inch wheels. While we're not completely sold on every element of its design, this twelve-cylinder two-door concept moves us more than the current 6 Series, and not just because it has four more cylinders underhood and 48,000-year-old kauri wood paneling inside. BMW is sadly mum on production hopes, but we're not entirely optimistic - the company has graced us with a number of attractive concepts at Villa d'Este before, only to pack them away again without ever affording them a production future.
If one of these concepts has a better shot at finding its way into dealers, we have to believe it's the Concept 90 under the BMW Motorrad umbrella. Designed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of BMW's R 90 S, we think this Roland Sands Design air-cooled boxer would look fantastic on today's streets, especially with the rising popularity of vintage motorcycles and cafe racers.