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Click the image above for a high-res gallery of the BMW CS Concept.

BMW will be joining the four-door "coupe" fray in 2010 when it launches its new flagship sedan, the Gran Turismo. Automotive News sat down with former M engineer, Gerhard Richter, who's been tasked with figuring out what design elements will be carried over from the CS Concept that debuted last year at the Shanghai auto show.

The Gran Turismo would slot in above the 7-series, being both longer and wider than BMW's largest sedan, and is likely to pack either a V8 or V12 powerplant. CSM Worldwide pegs production of around 15,000 units annually with a cost of around $150,000. That puts it in the same realm as Porsche's soon-to-be-released Panamera, Audi's rumored A7 and the Aston Martin Rapide, all of which will create a new class of high-priced, high-powered sedans that have yet to be proven in the marketplace.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

click above image for more high-res pics of the BMW CS Concept

We already knew that a production version of the CS Concept BMW debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show was in the automaker's product plans. Dubbed 'Gran Turismo', the four-door technological tour de force took a serious step toward reality today when BMW announced that Gerhard Richter, a manager at BMW M GmbH, is taking over control of the car's development. While he's adding that little bit of M flair to the Gran Turismo, Albert Biermann will be taking his place developing M models for the rest of us to enjoy.

While BMW didn't release any real details about the production version of the Gran Turismo, it did say that the car "will round the BMW product range upward as important technology carriers." That's the broken English of our translation, but you get the point. Like we said before, it'll be a technological tour de force.

[Source: BMW via Zercustoms]

BMW just dropped the full press kit on its stunning CS Concept unveiled yesterday in Shanghai. In case we didn't see it before, these diagrams clearly show similarities to class competitors, including the Quattroporte, Rapide and Panamera, with an overall BMW 7-Series flavor. They're even using the Gran Turismo tag in the press release. Read all the details about this emerging segment entry after the jump, and don't forget to visit both the official gallery and gallery of live shots, in case you haven't already. There's also a VIDEO walkaround available before the press release after the jump.

[Source: BMW]

UPDATE: Check out live shots of the BMW Concept CS here.

click above image to view our BMW Concept CS gallery and click here for live shots

Love it or hate it (and based on your comments, lovers seem to have a slight edge), the new BMW CS Concept has drawn a lot of attention. So when additional photos of the big "coupe" popped up overnight, we decided to pass them along. A couple dozen more media shots show concept sketches and a few more angles of this potential new 8-Series flagship. You can read our original post here, and the gallery is accessible below. Finally, if you're interested in some LIVE shots, our colleagues from Autoblog Chinese have just set up a gallery full of many shots from the show floor.

Click image for photo gallery

BMW surprised everyone with their Shanghai antics today. Showing that they can play the four-door coupe game as well as Mercedes, Aston and Porsche, the Bavarians unveiled their Concept CS. Expected to become BMW's new flagship model (8-series, perhaps?), the CS is believed to be almost production-ready. It sits on the newest 7-series platform under development, extending the length and width of the current 7 by a couple of inches, while dropping the roofl by a good five inches. it measures in at 200.8 inches long, 78 inches wide, and just 53.5-inches high. Even with the extra acreage, the CS is a four-seater only, with two sculpted seats in back.

Mercedes-Benz started this sport sedan/4-door coupe craze with its CLS, but this will be a larger, and likely more expensive, vehicle along the lines of the upcoming Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide. This Concept CS also shows us where the next iteration of BMW design is headed. Although his previous designs have been met with mixed reactions, designer Chris Bangle continues to use "flame surfacing" for complex curves that wouldn't have been possible with old manufacturing techniques. The CS feels like an evolution of that philosophy with sharper edges and swoopier surfaces all around. Underhood we'll find a 6.0-liter V12, which is essentially the M5 5.0-liter V10 with two extra cylinders. That's a nice modular motor for BMW if that ends up being the case, with 10-cylinder, 12-cylinder, and V8 versions used across the Motorsport models.

BMW's massive press release is pasted after the jump.

[Source: BMW via the Motor Trend Blog]