The newly unveiled BMW Concept Z4 made its way this weekend to the Concept Lawn at Pebble Beach, joining the likes of Infiniti Pebble Beach Retro Concept, Italdesign Zerouno, Genesis GV80, Mercedes-Maybach Vision 6, Spyker C8 Preliator Spyder and Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Speedster. The production Z4 is a joint project between BMW and Toyota. The platform will also underpin a Toyota sports car that’s expected to be the long-awaited successor to the Supra.
The concept features a special “energetic orange matt” paintjob and a shark-like front end that hints at the future nose of other upcoming BMWs. The traditional BMW “kidney” grilles at the front are wider than ever before and have a mesh pattern rather than the normal slats.
The Concept Z4 features squinting headlights that sweep upward toward wedge-shaped lines on the side. The side view reveals the front and rear overhangs are short, and the cabin moves slightly forward. The air intakes are low and wide, giving a focused look.
Marc Girard, head of BMW Concept Design, told Auto Express: “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 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.”
It’s believed that when the Z4 comes to production, it will carry both four- and six-cylinder engines, like most of the rest of BMW’s lineup.
The Z4 is slated to launch as a 2019 model by this time next year.
[Photos: Costin Giurgea]
