Look at BMW’s lineup and you’ll see there’s roughly an equal number of sedans/coupes and SUVs. This wasn’t the case a decade or so ago. The upcoming arrival of the X7, more hybrids and EVs and, perhaps, an X8, is additional proof that SUVs and batteries are the real money-makers now and will be in the coming years. However, BMW remains committed to its sports car heritage, hence the decision to invest heavily in the soon-to-be-revealed Z4’s all-new platform.
Though it was jointly developed with Toyota, BMW opted to start from scratch instead of simply updating the outgoing Z4’s architecture. Speaking to Autocar, BMW driving dynamics boss Peter Langen was very open about the company’s sports car commitment. “For us, it’s really important. We made a decision to have more SUVs because customers want to have these cars, but it’s also important to underline sportiness and joy, which are the brand values of BMW. The Z4 will show those values very well.” Again, that new sports car architecture is definitive proof of BMW’s devotion to coupes and roadsters. “The task was to build a new sporty open car, not a follower of the old Z4,” Langen added.
“They’re completely different. We designed the new Z4 as a new kind of sportiness.” The all-new Z4 reveal is only two months away. That unveiling will take place at Pebble Beach this August. This weekend, however, is the debut of another non-SUV BMW model, the all-new 8 Series.
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