Chris Bangle has long resigned from his role as chief designer of BMW, but the Munich-based brand with the blue-and-white propeller badge continues to cause controversy with the styling of its models.
We'd hardly call the 5 Series Gran Turismo (GT) a commercial success, yet BMW still has faith in the 'tall liftback' recipe, so it applied the same treatment on the smaller 3-Series range as it races to cover every single niche possible in the premium segments.
According to BMW, "this third body variant of the current model family unites the sporty-dynamic genes of the Sedan with the practicality and versatility of the Touring – attributes that are complemented by a palpable boost in space and ride comfort".
In case you were wondering or simply missed out on our previous coverage when the first images of the car leaked online, the new 3-Series Gran Turismo is actually 200mm (7.9 inches) longer in total than the 3-Series Touring, comes with a 110mm (4.3 inches) longer wheelbase and stands 81mm (3.2 inches) taller.
