Shooting Brake Z4 shocks motoring world – and not just for not being an SUV
BMW showed it still knows how to make beautiful cars after it revealed a new-age Z4 ‘clown shoe’ Concept Touring Coupe in Italy last week.
In an age where every BMW concept seems to be an SUV designed to shock, the Concept Touring Coupe is a pared-back Z4 convertible with a fixed roof, flat rear window, Hofmeister kink, flared rear wheel arches and a much larger boot.
BMW has unveiled the Z4-based Concept Touring Coupé
Revealed at the 2023 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este near Lake Como, Italy, the cabin is decked out in sumptuous two-tone leather from Italian manufacturer Poltrona Frau, while the exterior paintwork is a bespoke colour – Sparkling Lario charcoal-brown.
The front wheels measure 20 inches while the rears are 21-inch to accentuate what BMW called a classic “two-box” vehicle design. “A timeless symbol of freedom on four wheels,” said BMW.
BMW said there are no plans for production – sob – but confirmed the Concept Touring Coupe is powered by an inline-six cylinder.
The two-tone leather from Italian manufacturer Poltrona Frau certainly stands out
Certainly a lot more room back here than in the convertible
Whether or not that’s the 375kW twin-turbo S58 of the M3 and M4 or the single-turbo B58 from the Z4 M40i, it’s not clear. The Z4 M40i convertible’s B58 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six produces 250kW and 500Nm.
A production Concept Touring Coupe range could also utilise the Z4 sDrive20i’s turbocharged 2.0-litre inline-four producing 145kW and 320Nm – and would be the perfect platform for a new age Z4 M.
BMW has no plans for production but we hope they change their mind
Interior photos reveal an automatic transmission, presumably the ubiquitous ZF eight-speed torque converter automatic. But a six-speed manual is a realistic option, given it’s offered in both the Z4 convertible and closely related Toyota GR Supra.
Dubbed the ‘clown shoe’ as a way of mocking its pugnacious styling, the original Z3 M Coupe was sold between 1998 and 2002. With a 236kW 3.2-litre naturally aspirated inline-six and five-speed manual, it was a skunkworks vehicle developed by just five engineers in their own time.
The concept is of course a homage to the original BMW Z3 M Coupe
The engineers successfully ‘fixed’ the flexing of the open-top Z3 Roadster, and while it was initially ridiculed for its unusual styling, the ‘clown shoe’ coupe outsold the identically priced convertible version by nearly three to one.
The Concept Touring Coupe comes off the back of the successfully-received BMW M3 Touring. Going on sale last year, it became the first production M3 wagon produced by BMW.
Keyword: BMW Z4 shooting brake: new concept revives ‘clown shoe’ design