Rumours suggest that BMW is about to unveil a flagship 9 Series model at the upcoming Beijing Motor Show. According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport the Bavarian brand will use the Beijing show to preview a potential rival to the Mercedes-Benz S 600.
And that has been BMW's problem in the super-luxury stakes; while Merc has offered models above the S-Class saloon (first with the standalone Maybach and now with the extra-long wheelbase S 600) the BMW range has always finished with the 7 Series. Having recently announced that its SUV range will soon be topped by the XL-sized X7, it now looks like BMW will do similar with its saloon range.
And it will be a saloon as BMW's naming structure means odd numbers for saloons and even ones for sportier models like coupés. Which actually gives us an inkling of what the 9 Series may look like; remember the Pininfarina penned Gran Lusso Coupé concept? That could yet become the 9 Series' sportier side, competing directly with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupé.
If the 9 Series is given the green light it could go into production as early as 2016, aimed primarily at Chinese and Middle Eastern markets. Its architecture is said to be a new lightweight modular platform that will underpin many future BMW Group models including the replacement for the Rolls-Royce Phantom. The first car we are likely to see with the new platform is the next generation 7 Series with the platform stretched for the proposed 9 Series.