Spoiler: It’s the all-new Z4.
Over the past months we’ve seen BMW test their next-generation roadster quite extensively while also keeping a close eye on the Toyota (Supra?) coupe that’s being developed alongside it. More recently, though, the frequency of those Nurburgring shakedown sessions have decreased, hinting at an imminent reveal. Well, here’s the first official sign of that.
As evidenced by this Instagram post, the Munich automaker is expected to debut the Z4, as it’s believed to be called, at the upcoming Pebble Beach concourse happening in mid-August. It isn’t a sure thing, though, as the caption accompanying the photo doesn’t explicitly mention the car’s name, but the smart money isn’t pointing to any other possibilities.
The champagne and caviar event will play host to plenty of high rollers, exotic metal, and astronomical figures being thrown around at the auction theatre; BMW most recently previewed their 8 Series flagship coupe at a similar event in Lake Como, Italy, and they’re clearly growing fonder of this high brow scene.
The car being teased here leaves little room to deduce it anything but a sleek and compact two seat roadster, replete with a pair of flying buttresses that hug the headrests, adding balance to the rear quarter of the silhouette. It’s evocative of the BMW Z1 from 1989, even down to the reported ditching of the folding metal roof for a lighter and simpler fabric solution. Don’t hold your breath for that unique ‘slide-down’ doors making a return, though.
In fact, like that original roadster, the design of the car seen here is a departure from the current norm in that it seems lower and sharper at the front and rear, with a longer overhang on either end while almost adopting a wedge shape due to its sloping front.
We don’t know all that much about what kind of mechanicals will be powering this new car, but we can at least suspect that a hybrid component (courtesy of that Toyota partnership) will come into play, augmenting the more usual straight-six turbo-petrol engines that are something of a requisite in sporty Bimmers.
Of course, BMW should still be utilising their four-cylinder engines at the lower end, perhaps even finding a way to squeeze in a powerplant similar to the one seen on the shockingly potent i8: an electric motor paired with a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol.
With July just about over, there’s only a short stretch to wait until BMW is ready to reveal their new roadster, and with that provide us an equal indication of what we can expect in the next Toyota Supra.
For more on BMW cars, check out our Showroom.
