According to a recent report from Autocar, we can look forward to a four-door M2 on the road later this year. A more practical version of the best car the brand currently builds? Fantastic. Can’t wait. But with BMW’s current naming system, it’ll hit showroom floors as the “M2 Gran Coupe,” which in shines a light on the brand’s biggest problem: its naming convention is ridiculous, particularly when it comes to its reckless use of the word “coupe.”
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A little history. “Coupe” was originally a French word referring to a carriage with a fixed roof and two doors — a “cut” version of a four-door. Naturally, this translated quiet conveniently over to cars; for decades, buyers could assume that a coupe would, by definition, have two doors.
Then BMW started playing fast and loose with the term. The carmaker started using the “Gran Coupe” name on sleek, four-door sedans. It first began using this naming scheme back in 2012 on the 6 Series Gran Coupe, a four-door version of the 6 Series two-door. It then applied the Gran Coupe modifier to the 4 Series; making things even more confusing, the rest of the 4 Series lineup only has two doors, as it’s the coupe and convertible variant of the four-door-only 3-Series.
Of course, BMW isn’t the only brand to commit the offense of abusing the word “coupe.” Mercedes and Audi are two of the biggest offenders, but others do it too; look at Toyota, with its C-HR crossover. It’s in part a byproduct of yh constant splintering of new model lines and individual model names is getting out of hand.
