For quite a while we have speculated as to BMW’s intention to produce a next-generation roadster to replace the E89 BMW Z4, which is already beyond the normal seven-model-year lifespan given to most BMWs. Now it appears that the question is not if, but when.
A new BMW roadster has been spotted testing in Sweden. It is most definitely a roadster, not just a convertible version of an existing BMW coupe. There is no mistaking the long, rakish hood and the short rear deck. Unlike the current Z4, this new roadster was seen with a soft top. That jives with what we’ve been hearing from BMW; that it may be eschewing the folding hard convertible top for the more traditional ragtop. We might guess that weight has something to do with it, since all new BMW models seem to be on a diet these days.
What shall we call the new roadster? Many industry observers are already referring to it as the Z5, which makes sense if it is truly the follow-on to the Z4, just as the Z4 was the successor to the Z3.
Here’s what we don’t know from the pictures: What’s under the hood, whether there is an xDrive version, if BMW will make a plug-in hybrid variant, and whether this is the long-rumored child of a BMW-Toyota partnership. Although we don’t know for sure, we can make some semi-educated guesses.
The car will be turbocharged, and propulsion will likely come from a two-liter four, a three-liter six, and an M-developed engine. We’re betting there will be a plug-in hybrid at some point, since BMW had promised us an electrified car in every model series. xDrive is a possibility, especially since BMW builds many more models with it than without it, but on a roadster, we would have to ask the question, “Why?” We also think it is likely that certain aspects of this car were developed under the deal with Toyota that promised a new roadster for BMW and a next-generation Supra for Toyota.
Perhaps the presence of a soft top indicates the possibility that BMW will also give us a hardtop coupe version, similar in concept to the Z3 Coupe.
If the new roadster is only undergoing cold-weather testing now, then it is not likely we will see an official release until at least 2017, and that the car will probably be introduced as a 2018 model, at the earliest.
Given lackluster roadster sales across the industry, we’re glad to see that BMW is not throwing in the towel on two-seat convertible sports cars. The roadster is in BMW’s DNA. We went way too long between the 507 and the Z1—or for most people, the Z3—and we’re glad to see that BMW is working on a replacement that will give roadster fans a new BMW to drive well into the 2020s.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of Autoevolution.]
