Is the Z4 Concept BMW's most beautiful ever sportscar?

Meet the Z4 Concept which as you read this will be wowing them under the Californian sun at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

This is not exactly the car you will be able to buy in 2018 when the first production versions hit BMW showrooms. There are things going on here that are plainly concept car. But at the same time… wow. Quite a looker. 

Even after allowing for designer flourishes, there never was a Z4 (this is the third generation) like this before. The same should apply to the drive, with BMW promising “an all-out driving machine… the sportscar stripped back to the bare essentials.” As the company says, this is the BMW roadster reloaded.

For now, though, this has to be a design story – the production story, and also the intriguing tale of the reborn Toyota Supra which has been developed alongside it, will come another day. 

So it’s over to Adrian van Hooydonk, senior VP BMW Group design, and his team to point out for us the 10 elements of the new design of which they are most proud…

So it’s over to Adrian van Hooydonk, senior VP BMW Group design, and his team to point out for us the 10 elements of the new design of which they are most proud… 

1. The proportions.

It’s still obviously a front engine/rear drive two-seater sitting on a long wheelbase, but the bonnet is shorter than before and the driver sits further forward. For van Hooydonk it means a more agile look.

2. New BMW design language.

All the latest BMW tricks and treats are here, especially the broad kidney grille similar to that seen on other recent BMW concepts. Instead of vertical bars, the grille is filled with mesh that the designers say recalls that of the BMW 328 Mille Miglia. “The BMW Concept Z4 expresses the new BMW design language from all perspectives and in all details,” says van Hooydonk.

3. Shark Nose.

Compared with the old Z4, this one’s front end looks like it’s ready to eat you. The pointy profile implies plenty of movement even when the car is stationary, while head-on the apparent simplicity of the trio of air intakes in the front apron belies what is a powerful BMW face. The large carbon-fibre insert in the central air intake is pure motor sport – and maybe too much for the production car? Let’s hope not. For the designers, it amounts to a “very modern and sporting tribute to the celebrated roadsters of BMW’s past.”

4. The twin-headlight BMW light signature is back!

Well, in a hi-tech, more vertical way perhaps. The twin overlapping light ‘tubes’ each side are said to recall the old BMW four-eyed look while mounting them higher up than the grille “sparks deliberate associations with the BMW Z8 and lends the BMW Concept Z4 a certain flamboyance”.

5. Clamshell bonnet.

For the Z4 Concept’s designers, a clamshell bonnet was important in order to curve the bodywork over the wheels, creating a virtually seamless sweep over the front end as a whole. Set into the top of the bonnet are stylised vents. 

6. Dramatic surface contouring.

Designer-speak for getting light and shade to break up the surfaces. On the flanks, it is achieved by lines that begin from the gills aft of the front wheels and extend in a rising wedge to the haunches. Light and shade mission accomplished. “A few lines and the subtle interplay between surfaces are enough to generate a sense of power and emotion,” says van Hooydonk.

7. Speedster-style domes.

Finished in matt silver to match the mirrors, the domes stretch rearwards from the rollover hoops to provide “a sporting conclusion” to the low-to-the-road silhouette at the rear.

8. Contrasting interior colours.

The passenger half of the cabin is body colour – it’s called Energetic Orange – and separated from the exterior panels by a wide chrome strip. The business side of the cabin, meanwhile, is all black. It’s all probably a designer indulgence, but, you never know, a duotone interior might be an option…

9. Z4 signatures.

Though a substantially different and more grown-up design, the Z4 Concept has recognisable Z4 design cues: witness the sills with that distinctive upturned crease line to emphasise the low-slung profile, and also and perhaps most obviously Z4, the abrupt tail with prominent built-in spoiler on the boot lid.

10. Strong rear end.

Powerfully flared wheel arches give the car broad haunches, which are emphasised by the slim, L-shaped rear lights.