BMW presented its latest concept car on August 17th at the exclusive Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, tantalizing us with the possibilities of how a new BMW roadster might look. It is the BMW Concept Z4 and as BMW concepts go, it's pretty imaginative.
BMW said the design was intended not only to attract attention, but as we suspected, provide an indication of some of the design elements of the production Z4 when it debuts sometime next year.
“The BMW Concept Z4 in an all-out driving machine,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “Stripping the car back to the bare essentials allows the driver to experience all the ingredients of motoring pleasure with supreme directness. This is total freedom on four wheels.”
Obviously, this is what BMW thinks a roadster should look like. Van Hooydonk continued, “The BMW Concept Z4 expresses the new BMW design language from all perspectives and in all details. From the dynamic- looking front to the striking flanks to the clean-cut tail end: a few lines and the subtle interplay between surfaces are enough to generate a sense of power and emotion.
There's no question the Concept Z4 follows traditional roadster styling, in that it has a low body, short rear deck, and a long wheelbase. The hood on the concept does not seem as long as previous roadsters as the driver sits more in the center of the car.
The Concept Z4 is finished in Energetic Orange frozen paint finish. The side surfaces aft of the Air Breathers are sculpted so as to show off the three-dimensional contouring using light and shadow. Virtually no space is left under the wheel arches that are filled with 20-inch light-alloy wheels.
BMW went shark on the front of the Concept Z4. The kidney grilles and their relationship with the headlights definitely hearken to the BMW Z8 Roadster. The headlights are a departure from the BMW quad-headlight tradition. Three large intakes in the front apron demand that you pay attention to the potential of a powerful engine.
The rear deck includes a spoiler integrated with the trunk lid flanked by very wide L-shaped taillights. The semi-trapezoidal exhaust tips fit with the horizontal motif of the rear, but round quad pipes would probably please the BMW roadster traditionalist more. The large air exhausts compliment the big intakes in the front and the carbon-fiber diffuser adds a muted but sporty finish for the rear end.
The two-tone interior obviously generates discussion on a concept car, but we're thinking, pick a color. The black that covers the driver's side would be the obvious choice, but an interior all in orange somehow seems to make sense as well. It would probably only happen in a concept car.
BMW has created what it calls a "cone of vision" in which the steering wheel and surrounding areas create a driver focus that includes the instrument cluster and a central display. The driver may use touch command to call up the appropriate information normally associated with the central display, while the head-up display integrates that information with key driving information.
Since this car is both a concept and a roadster, there is no law that requires BMW to even put a top on this car, let alone show how a top might look, or where such a beast might be stowed while under way. Since we have seen spy photos of the camouflaged Z4 test cars with the top up and down, we don't have to leave that to our imagination. Besides, the BMW Concept Z4 is meant to be appreciated as is, and now that we have had the chance to see photos of it, we like it. We suspect that those fortunate fans who saw it at Pebble Beach probably think it looks even better in person.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]
