[aajami]

Originally Posted by red-sauerkraut

Have you seen the car? It is smaller and more compact than you may even think. Carbon Fiber tub, ragtop, eMotor on the front axle, a lot to like.

Do we have confirmation that the Z4/5 has a carbon tub?

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by aajami

Do we have confirmation that the Z4/5 has a carbon tub?

Yes. Front/Mid engine, rear transaxle.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by lemetier

rear transaxle.

Are you sure about a rear transaxle?
That would be a first for bmw I think.

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Are you sure about a rear transaxle?
That would be a first for bmw I think.

Good things happen when BMW and Toyota collaborate.

Front Axle Electric, mid mounted B58, Rear Axle ICE Hybrid combo.

There will be a Z2/GT86 and Z6/LF-A 4some aswell

[c63er]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

I can hardly believe that. The last z4 was a really poor seller at the end of its days, especially in the US. And over six months after production stopped there still isnt a successor ready.
For bmw this is a bad market segment in these days. I dont see them expanding this.

Originally Posted by jts1981

Stop saying 911 fighter. No where has BMW ever said that. BMW did say they are NOT a sportscar company. They will never make a 2 seater sports car to rival 911, or R8.

N E V E R

Both of you hit the nail on the head.

The fantasy of hoping for this and that and ignoring what's infront of us has to stop.

People have voted with their wallets with the e89 and bmw marketing is a cuckoo machine, they decide to double down on the e89 formula but cut their costs by teaming up with Toyota. Bad idea because while on paper it might make sense to someone who doesn't care about cars, the formula will fall apart when people have to think about putting good money into a piece of badge engineering. I predict this car will have every 3 letter system the world could ever dream of and be a wet dream for the little video game racers out there but at the same time be a total buzzkill because of it. After the initial inevitable hype dies down that will be that.

Let see how this goes, at some point something will make bmw wake up and smell the coffee.

[Ratutory]

Unfortunately our "insider" on this forum (scott) is wrong way more than he is right. I wouldn't put any weight into most of the information he provides.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by lemetier

Good things happen when BMW and Toyota collaborate.

Interesting, thats certainly not bmw tech
But then it's probably going to be build in japan?
This is not compatible with any of the bmw platforms (and thus any of the factories)

[lemetier]

Originally Posted by GuidoK

Interesting, thats certainly not bmw tech
But then it's probably going to be build in japan?
This is not compatible with any of the bmw platforms (and thus any of the factories)

They'll be built in Austria. The platform is CLAR in steroids.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by Ratutory

Unfortunately our "insider" on this forum (scott) is wrong way more than he is right. I wouldn't put any weight into most of the information he provides.

Oh, you mean maybe rationale that we got the 1M coupe as a consolation for no Z4M, a car which saw less than 800 units in NA, and worldwide production equated previous Z4M US delivery. Hah.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by lemetier

They'll be built in Austria. The platform is CLAR in steroids.

Interesting. That transaxle combo looks more like something out of a 200k supercar the way its constructed. Do all CLAR cars get this driveline? Because this one takes up a hell of a space (it looks big to me in the picture). In a normal car you'd want something lower, but that would mean different subframe mounting points, which would mean the factory tooling probably wont fit anymore thus different platform.
Is that a picture from a supra press release or from a z5 press release?

[Finnegan]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Oh, you mean maybe rationale that we got the 1M coupe as a consolation for no Z4M, a car which saw less than 800 units in NA, and worldwide production equated previous Z4M US delivery. Hah.

And the Z4M was 1,800 units in NA, hardly a high production car.

[supra93]

Found some spy shots of the Toyota version next to the new 3er. One interior photo but sadly it was mostly covered up.

[ShocknAwe]

Supra looks like its about the right size. Good to see its actually smaller than the new 3er.

[supra93]

Renderings from Autoguide

[3GFX]

I`m going to go out on a limb and say that`s waaaaaay off. Look at the shape of the headlights alone (under the camo).

[GuidoK]

Most renderings turn out to be hilarious in hindsight

But always nice to see what some artist thinks is cool

[supra93]

I think these are a little better.

[NickyC]

Meh, give me a 4C Roadster all day. That's the one car I could see replacing my Z4M with someday.

[wdb]

Looks heavy.

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Meh, give me a 4C Roadster all day.

A 4c is a much smaller and lighter roadster/coupe, like a lotus.
But also much more bare/basic.
With a z4 you can still go onto a holiday with your girlfriend, drive some alpine passes etc.
In a 4c or lotus....maybe not so much.

[supra93]

BMW and Toyota are jointly producing a new sports car, but contrary to popular belief, the BMW model will not be called the Z5.

Details about the sports cars are as scarce as honest politicians, which is why internet speculation about these two models has been rampant for years. Automotive journalists (including us) have been reporting that these cars would be called Z5 and Supra, respectively. But that is dead wrong, at least for the Bavarian half of this partnership.

“There’s no such thing,” said BMW Americas boss Ludwig Willisch during an interview with AutoGuide.com. If anyone’s familiar with the top-secret sports car project, it’s him.

Tempering any fears that this highly anticipated duet of vehicles has been canceled, he clarified, “There will be a sports car, yes, but it’s not going to be a Z5. That’s something that someone else has made up.”

When pressed for details Willisch said, “It will be called Z… probably 4.” Of course, the last roadster BMW built carried the same name, but the Z4 unceremoniously went out of production around the middle of 2016.

During its multi-year production run, this roadster offered a range of engines including a base turbocharged four-cylinder as well as an upmarket inline-six that also benefited from exhaust-driven forced induction.

Is a straight-six going to find its way under the hood of BMW’s upcoming “Z probably 4”? Willisch said, “I would call it a Z4 [and] that’s no indication of the number of cylinders.” That sounds like a confirmation that an inline six will at least be on the menu for this upcoming machine.

As for hybridization or all-wheel drive, things are a bit murkier. Willisch noted a partially electrified drivetrain might benefit a modern sports car, but he said, “not so much,” for the availability of four-corner traction. Hybridization is Toyota’s area of expertise. One element of their corporate tie-up is they share electric secrets with BMW while the Munich-based firm delivers diesel engines to them.

Another element of the next-generation Z4 that’s also unclear is whether a manual gearbox will be available. BMW may offer more standard transmissions than anyone else, but the future of driving with three pedals is murky.

Even for the brand that prides itself on building Ultimate Driving Machines, the take rate for manuals in America is, at best, in the single digits. “Even a lot of people say… ‘That’s great, you still have them,’ ” said Willisch. “But you ask them, ‘What do you drive?’ [and they say] ‘Well, I have an automatic.’ ”

Not even BMW is immune to market forces; they can’t send out loads of cars equipped with manual transmissions that will sit on dealer lots for months on end. “If the customers don’t want it, we don’t have to offer it,” said Willisch, which is a painful truth. We sincerely hope plenty of drivers will want to row their own gears in the upcoming “Z probably 4.”

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...executive.html

[doane2u]

Very interesting, thanks