The UK's CAR Magazine is reporting that BMW has given the production OK to the 9 Series, a massive gran coupe meant to sit between the 7 Series and the Rolls-Royce Ghost. (Remember BMW owns Rolls-Royce.) This news, if true, isn't a major shocker as the 9 Series has been talked about for some time now. But why won't it be called the 8 or 10 Series? The 8 Series from way back when kind of poisoned the well for the name and in a funny twist of fate, BMW doesn't actually have the rights to the 10 Series name.

There are said to be three types of powertrains on offer: a six-cylinder plug-in hybrid, a twin-turbo V8 and a V12 good for 650 horsepower. If the 9 Series is really supposed to slot lower on the totem pole than the Ghost then the engineers at Rolls-Royce may need to add some juice to the luxury car's 6.6-liter twin-turbo V12; it currently kicks out 563 horsepower. Of course there's time to do all that and more as the 9 Series won't be hitting dealer lots until early 2020. The holdup is due in part to the fact that it'll sit on the refreshed 7 Series long-wheelbase platform. Again, nothing is officially official so don't go nuts over this news just yet. Hopefully BMW confirms the existence or nonexistence of the 9 Series before or during Detroit.

Also, note that these images here aren't official either! One is a rendering and the other is the Pininfarina Gran Lusso Coupe concept from back in 2013.