BMW has established a new partnership with legendary Italian design house Pininfarina, the company responsible for some of the greatest performance cars the world has ever known and an expert in elegance and proportion.

To mark the start of the partnership, the German automaker commissioned the design of the Gran Lusso Coupe concept, which it unveiled at the recent 2013 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy.

BMW and Pininfarina are keen to stress that the design of the striking concept was a collaborative effort, with both sides free to interpret a high-end luxury coupe in whichever way they saw fit.

In this latest video, Pininfarina’s chief creative officer, Fabio Filippini, and the head of design for the BMW brand, Karim Habib, explain the design philosophy behind the concept and how elements from both parties were combined for the final result.

For those dreaming of a BMW rival to the likes of the Bentley Continental GT or upcoming Mercedes-Benz S Class Coupe, a potential 8-Series revival perhaps, the Gran Lusso Coupe has been described as being purely a one-off concept built to mark the start of collaboration between BMW and Pininfarina.

However, while it may not hint at any particular model, the design themes will feature on future high-end BMWs. One of these will almost certainly be the next-generation 7-Series due out in the next couple of years.

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