BMW unveils Z4 Concept car at Pebble Beach

Sleek, sharp and appealingly aggressive, could this be the sports car of your dreams?

BMW Z4
(Image credit: BMW)

BMW has taken the wraps off its Z4 Concept car at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California, previewing the next-generation of its popular sports car.

The Concept has a radically different design to the outgoing Z4. AutoExpress says its "low shark-nosed front-end" rises in a "wedge shape to the muscular rear haunches" and this gives the car a look of "lithe aggression".

Much of its styling has been taken from the company's 8 Series Concept that appeared at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este motor show in Italy earlier this year, says the magazine. This includes the "delicate sliver of carbon fibre jutting out as a front spoiler element."

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But there are a number of styling elements not seen before on a BMW, such as a stacked headlight cluster and a new version of the company's signature kidney grilles.

The head of concept design at BMW, Marc Girard, told Evo: "It's a driver's car, a sports car, it's super agile, it's light, it's light-footed – and extremely dynamic".

The company is remaining "tight-lipped" about engine and performance figures, says the magazine, but the Z4 is expected to be powered by BMW's familiar four and six-cylinder turbocharged petrol units.

A BMW M version is expected later in the car's life. It will be powered by a 425bhp 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder petrol engine, says Autocar.

It's also set to spawn the revival of the Toyota Supra sports car, says Evo. This is due to enter the market next year after a 15-year hiatus.

Around 80 per cent of the Concept's features will be present in the final car, says Evo, but fans will have to wait until next year to see the production version.

BMW Z4 teased ahead of Pebble Beach reveal

31 July

BMW has released a teaser image for its new drop-top Z4 sports car, which will be revealed in full at the Pebble Beach motor show in California next month.

See more

While only the outline of the car is visible in the image, Autocar says it appears to have a "pair of buttresses" located behind the seats, although the production version is expected to feature "a more conventional folding soft top".

The image also suggests the new drop-top will have a more angular design than the rounded edges of the current Z4. It has a small rear wing that Car says looks like the decade-old Porsche Carrera GT supercar.

As the company has chosen the Californian-based motor show for the car's public debut, AutoExpress says it expects it to appear in concept form "rather than the finished product".

This would be a similar move to the firm's unveiling of its 8 Series coupe, the magazine says, which first appeared as a concept at this year's Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este motor show to "whet the appetite for the production model."

"One thing we do know about the next Z4 is that it will share the same platform as Toyota's next generation Supra", says Evo, as "both cars have had similar GT-like proportions and it's easy to see that both could easily share the same underpinnings".

The new Z4 could also be powered by a range of both four and six-cylinder turbocharged engines, it adds, while a more powerful M variant will probably appear "some time in the future".

More details, such as performance figures and prices, are expected when the car makes its public debut on 17 August.

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