Preview: 2009 BMW four-door coupe

Following the trend of spacious coupes with more than the traditional two doors, we expect BMW to release an all-new super luxury car to cap its line. The new range-topping four-door coupe will target Mercedes-Benz's CLS and Porsche's Panamera, both also four-door coupes. The car will most likely come as a 2009 model year, and shares exterior similarities with the CS Concept revealed at Shanghai earlier this year.

BMW is expected to bring the new car in as the 8-series, although the new car shares very little in common with the long-gone 8-series that roamed the globe from 1990-1999. One of the few similarities that is likely will be the V12 powerplant under the hood - although the original 8-series' six-speed manual will likely be replaced with a dual-clutch gearbox. The new CS-based 8-series is also expected to be targeted even further up-market than the original.

As the photos show, the lines of the car give a sense of purpose and speed, and also work to minimize the rather large stature of the car. The styling certainly aligns well with rumored M-variants or possibly even a Z-badge for the car, although BMW has yet to stick the sports-car reserved Z-badge on anything larger than the Z8, which is comparatively diminutive. Huge intakes and aggressive sheetmetal certainly indicate the car will be intended for performance as much as luxury, no matter what moniker the car receives.

Prices for top-of-the-line models should exceed BMW's highest-end 7-series, which can run up to $150,000. And although it's expected to be available as a 2009 model year car, there is no word on actual release dates or specs yet.