An unloved GT car is killed off by BMW.

BMW has officially confirmed what many industry experts have been predicting since late last year. The Germany company will not develop a Gran Turismo version of its latest G20 3 Series.

An official statement from BMW details that market trends and industry turmoil have undone the business case for a second-generation of 3 Series Gran Turismo. BMW contends that enough demand for the 3 Series Gran Turismo remains, but it has more pressing engineering priorities now than building a pseudo-hatchback version of its new G20 3 Series.

The 3 Series Gran Turismo was a curious product planning misjudgement by BMW: not as attractive as the 3 Series touring estate car, not as capacious as an X3 SUV. Although the notchback configuration meant a very accommodating aperture for getting bulky luggage and things into the back of a 3 Series Gran Turismo, the benefit in terms of absolute load capacity was never big enough.

A standard previous-generation 3 Series sedan had 495-litre of boot space. The same platform in 3 Series Gran Turismo trim, only yielded 25-litre more luggage capacity, for a loading total of 520-litres.

The Gran Turismo never delivered a true cross-over type advantage within BMW’s 3 Series model portfolio. Traditional compact sedan customers who desired something with greater practicality or gravel travel ability, simply skipped over it, migrating to the logically more appropriate X3. The decision to not allow forGran Turismo’s development onthe new G20 3 Series platform, is therefore not much of a surprise.

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