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BMW makes a sedan and calls it the Gran Coupé; so why not make a two-door that looks like it should be one of those neo-swoopy four-doors that have become so stylish? That might be your first impression of the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé, which had the wraps pulled back at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este this week. But your second impression is most likely just a plain and simple, "Damn."

That's because it's a great-looking low-flying road bomber, and it marks the first time BMW and Pininfarina have combined talents. So far, the Gran Lusso Coupé is being presented as a one-off design, representing Pininfarina's idea of what a BMW luxury coupé should be. "The appeal of this collaboration with Pininfarina is that you get another, very different and special angle on facets like luxury and exclusivity," said BMW design chief Karim Habib.

The Gran Lusso Coupé is definitely elegant with its long wheelbase and set-back passenger compartment. It's certainly a BMW at first glance, but you can also tell that it's unlike any other in existence. That's due to the melding of Pininfarina's finesse with BMW's design cues, like the kidney grille and shark-nose front end. Behind the fascia sits a V-12, and the stance of the vehicle is anchored by 21-inch wheels that have also been specially designed for this car.

Even with a second designer label on the Gran Lusso Coupé, the Hofmeister Kink is still there along with many other delightful details all over the body--like the integrated side vents in the front-quarter panels or the headlamps that squint with a distinctively different expression than other BMWs.

The interior of the BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupé is mostly BMW's hand at work. Pininfarina offered input on the color palette and materials along with sketches for the overall seat design. Lines flow around the interior from the dash to the door panels, echoing the exterior cues within the cabin. With the Coupé's long wheelbase, space comes not as a premium. Foglizzo Italian leather--in black and Tobacco Brown--paired with kauri wood aged more than 48,000 years make the interior a driving parlor par excellence.

Given that this is a concept vehicle, pretty much every description you'll read will be dripping with superlatives and hyperbole. But we'll keep it simple: If this is where BMW is headed, even with just a few very special models, we'll follow.

This Is A Developing Story

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