EuroCar Body Award 2017 goes to the body of the new BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo.

Munich. At their annual conference in Bad Nauheim, automobile construction experts from all over the world selected the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo as the winner of the EuroCar Body Award 2017. After the BMW i8 (2014) and the BMW 7 Series (2015), it was the third time one of the company's models won the award, which was first introduced in 2002. The jury of the world's leading award for innovation in body construction were particularly impressed by the efficient development and production concept used as well as the customer benefits provided by the body.

BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo: body concept with a high degree of functionality.

Introduced worldwide at the end of 2017, the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo perfects the vehicle concept initiated by the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, combining the travel comfort of a luxury class sedan with the aesthetic appeal of a coupé, while also offering a high degree of functionality. Intelligent lightweight construction and the increased use of aluminium and high-strength steel types for the body and chassis components helped reduce the weight of the new BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo by an average of approximately 150 kilograms as compared to the predecessor model. 44 kilograms of this were due to the body alone. The result is also much improved aerodynamic properties.

The jury members especially emphasised the design solutions developed by BMW for the rear: "Based on a large, single-section pressure die-cast aluminium tailgate frame and an innovative rear design which does without a water drainage channel, it was possible to achieve a very large, convenient rear opening with a maximum view through the rear window – combined with a luggage compartment volume increased by 110 litres as compared to the predecessor model" – as was stated in the rationale for the EuroCar Body Award. The jury likewise underscored the efforts made by BMW to reduce vehicle weight by means of intelligent lightweight construction. Here again, the body of the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo sets a new benchmark, in particular due to numerous detailed structural improvements – in spite of having to satisfy more rigorous crash requirements and having slightly increased dimensions.

The interior offers generous space, while the raised seating position ensures an excellent overview. Three fully-fledged seats at the rear with ample leg space emphasise the travel qualities of the car, as does the fact that the headroom has been increased in spite of a lower roof line – achieved by optimising the seat system. The single-section tailgate of the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo is opened and closed electrically as standard. The luggage compartment volume is 610 litres: this can be expanded to 1800 litres by folding down the seats using an electrical remote control function.

Benchmark for body construction.

550 body experts attended the 19th EuroCar Body in Bad Nauheim, Hesse. The conference focuses on the technical benchmarking of bodies and their production, as well as selecting the winners of the world's top awards for innovative body construction – the EuroCarBody Awards. These go to pioneering serial production developments in body construction. For a period of three days, the experts discussed and assessed a dozen competing vehicles based on bodyshells and finished models. For the first time, vehicles were entered in two categories – one for volume-production models and one for premium segment vehicles.

The BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo ultimately not only won the EuroCar Body Award for the premium segment but also achieved the highest point score overall among all competitors. By ranking first in three of the four technical assessment categories, the BMW 6 Series Gran Turismo laid the foundation for a clear outright victory: it was ahead of the field in the technical categories of development and construction, production efficiency and customer benefits, thereby achieving a total score of 39.10 out of a possible total of 50 points. This put it well ahead of the competitors.