BMW 428i GC Bilbao 48

BMW Malaysia has just launched the F36 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe - the launch model is the 428i Gran Coupe, the car arriving a month after it was sampled at its international press drive in Spain. The 428i GC is available in two variant forms - a Sport Line version as well as a M Sport.

The handsome Gran Coupe shares much in common with the F32 4 Series Coupe it's based on. Aside from borrowing the front and rear ends of the two-door, the overall dimensions are largely the same (4,638 mm long, 1,825 mm wide, with a 2,810 mm wheelbase), though it's 12 mm taller at 1,389 mm than the two-door Coupe and its roof line is 112 mm longer to provide additional headroom for rear occupants.

The 4 GC has a 480 litre volume boot, accessible through a hatch-styled automated tailgate. In terms of space, it's identical to the F30 3 Series and 35 litres more than the 4 Series Coupe, and folding the 40:20:40 splitting rear bench increases this to 1,300 litres.

As its badge suggests, this 4GC is powered by the N20B20 2.0 litre TwinPower twin-scroll turbo lump in its 245 hp at 5,000-6,500 rpm and 350 Nm at 1,250-4,800 rpm output tune, and this is paired with a ZF eight-speed Sport automatic transmission. Performance figures for the 1,605 kg variant include a 0-100 km/h time of 6.0 seconds and an electronically-limited 250 km/h top speed.

Standard equipment on the 428i GC Sport includes Adaptive M Suspension, 18-inch double-spoke Style 397 alloys and 225/45 series tyres, Sports seats and leather steering wheel. BMW Sport-badged door sill finishers and a nine-speaker, 205 watt HiFi audio system.

The M Sport package adds on an M Aerodynamics kit and BMW Individual high-gloss Shadow Line elements, comfort access, panorama sun roof and M-badged door sill finishers, and switches the steering wheel to a signature three-spoke M Sport unit and the audio system to a 16-speaker, 600 watt Harman/Kardon kit.

The 428i GC M Sport is also shod with 18-inch wheels, but of the M light-alloy double-spoke Style 441 variety, wrapped with 225/45 front and 255/40 rear rubbers.

Five exterior colours are available for the 428i Gran Coupe Sport, these being Melbourne Red, Glacier Silver, Mineral Grey, Alpine White and a brownish shade called Jatoba. Interior upholstery is Dakota Black leather with red highlights, though buyers opting for the Alpine White shade can pick a Dakota Coral Red leather job.

The M Sport version, meanwhile, gets four colour options, Mineral Grey and Alpine White being joined by Carbon Black and the signature Estoril Blue seen on the Spanish drive examples. Again, the interior scheme is Dakota Black leather, but for the Carbon Black exterior there's a Dakota Ivory White/Black option.

Pricing for the BMW 428i Gran Coupe Sport is RM389,800 on-the-road without insurance, while the M Sport package adds RM29,000 to the equation, taking a 428i GC M Sport to RM418,800.

That's a premium of RM31,000 over the F32 coupe's 428i Sport Line (RM358,800) and RM30k, 428i M Sport (RM388,800), and in the case of the F30 3 Series sedan, a jump of RM79k over the 328i M Sport, which goes for RM309,800.

Read our 428i Gran Coupe M Sport test drive report from Bilbao, Spain.