The BMW Z4 Concept Touring Coupé is a Stunning Two-Seater Shooting-Brake
On the shores of Lake Como at the recent Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, BMW revealed the Z4 Concept Touring Coupé. More than just a hardtop variant of the regular Z4, the Touring Coupé proves that the designers in Munich haven’t entirely lost the plot just yet.
With the recent releases of the latest M3, the XM, and this week, the new 5 Series, it’s safe to say that my retinas are feeling rather scorched. This barbaric crusade waged by the BMW design team to purge their lineup of any remaining shred of elegance has resulted in a mix of confused, bulbous and simply grotesque four-wheeled freaks. A slight exaggeration? Perhaps. But stood alongside some of the marque’s greatest hits from the past, it’s obvious something has gone wrong somewhere.
Which is why I’m relieved to say that the new Touring Coupé concept is… stunning.
I would argue that the ordinary Z4 is one of the last remaining handsome cars offered by BMW, but the Touring Coupé takes this a step further by replacing the soft-top with a shooting-brake style hatchback, reminiscent of everyones’ favourite clown shoe, the Z3M. Not much has changed up front, the kidney grilles remaining a perfectly acceptable size but now featuring vertical bars and a splash of silver-bronze paint. It wears a new staggered set of 20 and 21 inch wheels in the same paint and the ‘Hofmeister kink’ is present and correct.
Open the door and you’re greeted with a vintage-inspired cocoon of brown leather with a matching Italian-made luggage set. As the interior retains the basic architecture of the standard Z4, there are no crazy 50 inch screens or steering yokes that adorn most concept cars. Similarly, the powertrain is carried over from the standard car, so you can expect silky, reliable power from its 3.0 litre inline-six.
All of this has a whiff of production car restraint about it, no? Well, the future of a hardtop Z4 is uncertain. With the ongoing charge towards battery power (pun intended), it’s hard to see the BMW board giving a new, two seater petrol-powered sports car the green light, especially as the Z4 only has three years remaining until it’s due to be axed. So for the meantime, you will have to make do with the Toyota Supra which is, in essence, a hardtop Z4 already. Or, if you’re feeling especially wild and your pockets are especially deep, Smit Vehicle Engineering will cook you up one of their rather tasty Oletha Coupes.