Remember the outlandish BMW M Coupé, which was sold in limited numbers in SA from 1999 to 2002? Next year, BMW will launch the spiritual successor to the classic M car – a coupé version of the Z4 roadster – to duke it out with Porsche’s upcoming Cayman.
Remember the outlandish BMW M Coupé, which was sold in limited numbers in SA from 1999 to 2002? Next year, BMW will launch the spiritual successor to the classic M car – a coupé version of the Z4 roadster – to duke it out with Porsche’s upcoming Cayman.
During a five-year production run in Spartanburg, South Carolina, BMW sold fewer than 18 000 Z3 Coupés (which included models powered by 2,8-litre and 3,0-litre straight sixes – on overseas markets – and the M Coupé, fitted with the 3,2-litre engine from the E36 or (by the end of its model life) E46 M3 sports saloon/coupé models.
Similarly, the Z4 has been anything but a roaring success. After a promising start in 2002, production was scaled back drastically from 56 589 to 35 136 last year, and in the first five months of 2005, production was cut by another 28 per cent.
Bean counters in the automotive industry might suggest otherwise, but BMW plans to push ahead with the Z4 Coupé, which will be launched in mid-2006. In fact, BMW will show a concept version of the car at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
If next year’s Z4 Coupé is well received, suggests, the next-generation Z4, dubbed E89 and due in 2009, will again spawn a tin-topped derivative. The E89 will reportedly be similar in size to the current Z4, but it’s likely to have less-controversial looks, a wider track and more dynamic proportions.
Compared with the previous Z3 and M Coupés, which were apparently conceived by a group of BMW engineers who never expected the cars go into production (or so legend has it), the Z4 Coupé will be significantly more stylish and sophisticated. Insiders predict that the range will offer such options as active steering, adjustable dampers, iDrive, and the new twin-clutch transmission due to replace the sequential M transmission.
Sources say BMW plans to offer a 138 kW 2,0-litre four-cylinder, 172 kW 2,5-liter and 240 kW turbocharged 3,0-litre straight-six, and a normally-aspirated 4,0-litre V8 in the Z4 Coupé.
The Z4 Coupé promises to be far more practical, but, as a matter of course, more derivative, than its predecessor. BMW insiders are already boasting about the Z4 Coupé’s roomy boot and many cupholders! Will the car be a success? You tell us.
