3rd gen G29 BMW Z4 (2019-202X)

johnny_10196

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New 2018 BMW Z4 previewed by bold concept at Pebble Beach

BMW Concept Z4 shows potential look of new Roadster, and we’ve spoken to its designer Marc Girard

BMW chose this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to unveil its Concept Z4, a machine that reveals how the 2018 production Roadster will look. There are elements of the Concept that won’t make production but approximately 80 per cent of this ‘Energetic Orange Matt’ design study will morph into a showroom-ready machine during the course of next year.

It’s a bold statement by BMW and coupled with the recently revealed 8 Series Concept clearly previews how the next generation of BMWs will look. The overall effect is one of lithe aggression and should suit the Z4 perfectly with a low shark-nosed front-end that rises in a wedge shape to the muscular rear haunches. Like the 8 Series there’s a delicate sliver of carbon fibre jutting out as a front spoiler element.

The Concept Z4 has a number of styling elements not seen before on a BMW, particularly around the front of the car. The traditional BMW kidney grilles are still present but they’re wider than ever before and feature a new mesh type design rather than the familiar slatted look that we’re accustomed to. The width of the kidneys has forced the headlights to the extremities and while they still contain the expected twin light setup the lights themselves are stacked one on top of the other which is a first for a BMW.

The bonnet is a wide clamshell design which stretches part way down the front wings and the bonnet itself is devoid of design elements bar two bold strakes designed to allow heat from the engine bay to escape. Where the clamshell bonnet ends on the wings is the start of a powerful swage line that runs up the side of the car, through the doors, and ends at the top of the L-shaped LED rear light clusters. Aft of the front wheels are large air-breathers capped with a piece of carbon fibre and these are the start of a scalloped area on the Z4’s flanks, which again rises up the to accentuate the powerful rear arches and rear-wheel drivetrain.

In profile it’s apparent the driver is more centrally situated in this generation of Z4 than in the previous two incarnations and Marc Girard, the car’s designer, says this is to really accentuate the fact that the driver is the main focus. This Z4 should be lighter than the outgoing car too as it now features a fabric hood rather than a folding hardtop. For the Concept the hood has been removed which allowed the design team to fit the sculpted fairings behind the headrests which look wonderful, but we’re not sure whether it will be possible to integrate these with the hood for the production car.

It’s been designed first and foremost to be a driver’s car and this is echoed within the cockpit where the passenger side features the same hue as the outside of the Z4 but the driver’s side has its own black colour scheme, again focussing on the driver. Like the 8 Series Concept the major controls are sited in what BMW calls ‘islands’ so all the driving modes are clustered around the stubby gear lever and the heating controls are around the air vents. The dashpod is an all-digital affair while the main central monitor butts up to the dashpod allowing a flow of information from the main monitor to the instrument cluster with the driver able to choose what information is displayed.

As this is a Concept BMW is keeping tight-lipped over what engines will power the Z4 but both the 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbocharged units will feature with outputs ranging from 187 to 355bhp and we would expect a PHEV ‘e’-badged version too. Whether there will be an M version remains to be seen – the last Z4 didn’t feature a full-fat M version – but as this next generation Z4 promises a more focussed driving experience we would expect an M Performance version at the very least.

Q&A with Marc Girard, head of BMW Concept Design

What is the inspiration behind the Concept Z4?


“From our heritage, but we want to reinterpret everything at the same time. We’re not doing retro, we want to reinvent key items like the kidneys and headlights and the goal is to make all our cars full of character, keeping the iconic design cues but newly translated for each model.”

How would you say the Concept Z4 differs from the outgoing model?

“The top topic when designing the car was the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’. To make it more agile we reduced the wheelbase – from a semantic standpoint it clearly tells the story that the driver is in the middle of everything.”

So it sounds like it will be sportier than the previous Z4?

“What we want to convey with the proportions is clearly performance – it’s a driver’s car, it’s a sports car, it’s super agile, it’s light-footed and extremely dynamic.”

How close is the Concept to the production car?

“We are basically previewing the production car. Here we have 80 per cent of the hard core engineering requirements in terms of aerodynamics and cooling and things like that so we are, in effect, previewing a close to production model.”

What’s your favourite part?

“That’s hard to say, but I particularly like the fairings behind the headrests with the carbon fibre insert that goes all the way inside and the milled one-piece aluminium which is semi clear coated and semi matt – they’re gorgeous pieces of sculpture."

And what’s underneath the Concept?

“Oh, a normal BMW engine… we had plenty of choice!”
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/bmw/z4/...t-pebble-beach
 

vb22

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I also think the Supra sound louder than the Z4. I can't seem to find any videos on the new LS500 exhaust for a comparison.
 

vb22

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Some interesting theories from other forums are maybe markets like Europe will use BMW drivetrains while markets like the US will receive the TT V6 from the LS. :dunno:
 

gymratter

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im a huge BMW guy. with that said the M2/3/4 all sound like @ss for the most part. the Toyota in that video sounds good. i wonder whats under the hood? :popcorn:
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