BMW 640i Gran Coupe (F06)

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the BMW 640i Gran Coupe (F06) with the 3.0L turbocharged inline-six petrol engine, 316 bhp, an eight-speed automatic gearbox and rear-wheel drive, built from 2012 to 2018. It is not a guide to the 640i xDrive, which added all-wheel drive later in the car's life, to the 640d diesel, to the 650i V8, or to the M6 Gran Coupe. Where those cars differ we say so below, because an advert that says only "6 Series Gran Coupe" can describe any of them. It is also not a guide to the two-door 6 Series coupe and convertible, which share the engines but not the body.

We have not driven this model for this article. Everything here comes from three cited sources: BMW Group's own December 2011 press release for the Gran Coupe, PistonHeads' May 2012 first drive of the 640d and 640i, and the government recall checker. We also read Wikipedia's article on the F06, F12 and F13 generation for production dates and the wider engine range, and we flag every point that rests on it. Where sources disagree we say so rather than pick a winner quietly. Prices are history, not valuations.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 3.0L turbocharged inline-six petrol, a single twin-scroll turbocharger on the N55 engine. BMW prints 2,979 cc, which is the figure we now store. Our catalogue previously held 2,998 cc, and no source we read supports that.
• Power: 316 bhp. BMW prints 235 kW (320 hp) at 5,800 to 6,000 rpm. BMW's "hp" here is metric horsepower, so it is really 320 PS. We convert at 0.9863 to get 315.6, rounded to 316 bhp, and the kilowatt figure converts at 1.341 to 315.1 bhp. PistonHeads prints 320hp and Wikipedia prints 315 hp for the same engine, so expect adverts to quote any of 315, 316 or 320.
• Torque: 450 Nm, available from 1,300 to 4,500 rpm according to BMW. PistonHeads and BMW both print 332 lb ft, which converts back to 450 Nm.
• 0-100 km/h: 5.4 seconds. BMW prints 5.4 seconds for 0-100 km/h, and PistonHeads prints 5.4 seconds for 0-62 mph. These are the same class of claim and are manufacturer figures, not our measurements. Our catalogue previously held 5.5 seconds, which we have replaced.
• Top speed: 250 km/h, electronically limited, which BMW also prints as 155 mph.
• Drive: rear-wheel drive through an eight-speed sports automatic, with Auto Start-Stop standard.
• Size: 5,007 mm long on a 2,968 mm wheelbase. PistonHeads says the wheelbase is 113 mm longer than the coupe's and the extra length adds only 70 to 90 kg depending on specification.

What the car is

BMW announced the Gran Coupe in December 2011 as the first four-door coupe in its history, and Wikipedia gives production as March 2012 to September 2018 at Dingolfing in Germany. It is a long, low saloon with a glass fibre composite boot lid, a 460 litre boot that grows to 1,265 litres with the split rear seats folded, and a 4+1 seating layout, meaning four proper seats and a narrow centre place in the rear. Our catalogue previously called it a "4/5 seater hatchback", which does not match BMW's description of a boot lid, so we now store it as a four-door coupe.

Electric power steering and Dynamic Damper Control were standard, with Integral Active Steering and Adaptive Drive offered as options, so the equipment on any individual car varies a good deal. PistonHeads found the Gran Coupe more stable and more predictable than the coupe, and called the ZF eight-speed automatic excellent, particularly in manual mode on the petrol car. It also criticised the steering for feeling both gloopy and hyper-reactive.

2012 to 2018: what changed

Wikipedia says the 2015 update, shown at the Detroit show, brought a redesigned bonnet and bumpers, adaptive LED headlights, LED fog lights, mirror-mounted indicators, new wheels and paint colours, and Euro 6 compliance, with added ride comfort settings for the electronically adjustable dampers. Press coverage we found says the engines were carried over. The 640i entry in Wikipedia's engine table runs 2011 to 2018 with one set of figures, and we found no source describing a different 640i engine on later cars, so we treat the 320 PS N55 as the car's engine for its whole life. Treat that as our reading rather than a confirmed engineering record. Some markets and sources print slightly different power figures for the later cars, so ask for the registration document figure.

Our catalogue years of 2012 to 2018 match the production dates above. Sales of the model continued into the 2019 model year in some markets, according to Wikipedia.

How the other Gran Coupes differ

• 640i xDrive: the same engine with all-wheel drive. Wikipedia says it arrived in 2013 and another source we read says 2014, so the start date is uncertain. We did not find a verified 0-100 km/h figure or kerb weight for it.
• 640d: a 3.0 litre twin-turbo diesel with 230 kW (313 hp) and 630 Nm, quoted by BMW at 5.4 seconds to 100 km/h and the same 250 km/h limit. PistonHeads said the diesel's torque gives an almost muscle car feel.
• 650i: a 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8 with 330 kW (450 hp) and 650 Nm, quoted by BMW as provisional at 4.6 seconds to 100 km/h, or 4.5 seconds with xDrive. BMW said xDrive was available from the 650i's launch.
• M6 Gran Coupe: a separate high-performance car. Wikipedia lists 412 kW (553 hp) and about 4.0 seconds. We have not researched it for this guide.

Original pricing

PistonHeads reported UK prices in May 2012 of 61,390 pounds for the 640i and 63,900 pounds for the 640d, about 1,800 pounds more than an equivalent coupe. That is history, not a current value. BMW's December 2011 release quoted combined economy of 7.7 to 7.9 litres per 100 km and 179 to 183 g/km of CO2 for the 640i, which are test-cycle figures.

How many were built

We could not find a Gran Coupe production figure. Wikipedia gives 129,678 for the whole F12, F13 and F06 generation for 2011 to 2017 and says it has no Gran Coupe only figure, so our catalogue keeps the production count empty rather than guess.

What to check before buying

• Confirm the drive. A 640i xDrive and a rear-wheel drive 640i look almost identical, so check the badge, the build sheet and the registration paperwork.
• Look for oil leaks around the valve cover, oil filter housing and sump on the N55 engine, and ask whether the electric water pump has been replaced. These are weak points that owners and independent workshops commonly report for the N55. We did not verify them against a BMW or regulator source, so treat them as questions for an independent specialist, not findings.
• Ask for the full service history, since a car of this age is likely to have had several owners and a mix of dealer and independent work.
• Check what suspension and steering options are fitted and test the adaptive dampers on a drive over rough surfaces, because replacement costs depend on the specification.
• Check the headlights, LED units and electronics for warning lights. We found no verified cost figures, so any quote you receive is an estimate.
• Run the registration through the recall check described below.

Recalls and the DVSA check

We did not run the government checker, because it needs a registration number or the manufacturer, model and year, and we are not looking at a specific car. The page says that for a car you enter the registration number to see unresolved safety recalls and the MOT history, or enter manufacturer, model and year if you do not have it, and that the manufacturer will tell you directly about a recall for a reason other than safety. We found no recall notice for the 640i Gran Coupe in any source we read, and absence from our sources is not a clean bill of health, so use the checker and ask a BMW dealer about open campaigns.

About the photograph

The picture at the top of this page is a white BMW 640i Gran Coupe in M Sport trim photographed in Japan, shared on Wikimedia Commons under CC0. It appears to be a car from before the 2015 update. We cannot tell from the image whether it is rear-wheel drive or xDrive, so we use it only to show the shape.

Verdict

The 640i Gran Coupe in this guide is 316 bhp, 450 Nm, a claimed 5.4 seconds to 100 km/h and an electronically limited 250 km/h, rear-wheel drive, in a long four-door coupe with real rear space. It is the middle of the Gran Coupe range, and BMW's test-cycle fuel figure is lower than the V8's. If you are shopping for one, confirm the drive and engine, insist on history, and have an independent specialist look at the oil seals and cooling. We have not driven it, so use the sources and a proper inspection to decide.