The special BMW coupés are actually always only for the enthusiast, not the poseur.
Last week, BMW showed that they did think of the purist petrolhead. To complete the party at Villa d’Este, there was the BMW Z4 Shooting Brake. Finally a car that we really want to see on the roads. Why? It is a car that is actually only intended for the petrolhead.
In many cases, BMW coupes are based on traditional sedans. There is nothing wrong with that in principle, but it is not really exciting in terms of bodywork. Or yes, they have to model a very strange nose on it. But BMW has often built special cars in the past. Coupés that are really intended for the purist, not so much for the show-off.
People who just want the thickest drive in an M4, while only a connoisseur will drive around in such a Shooting Brake. Do you feel the difference? We dived into the history of the special BMW Coupés from relatively recent history (we are also getting older) and came up with the list below:
BMW M1 (E26)
1978–1981
A completely different type of car, but it should not be missing from the list with separate BMW coupes. This is not a coupe based on a roadster, but a real supercar. Today, the BMW XM is the epitome of what M stands for, but before that it was a (partly) Lamborghini-designed supercar with a high-revving straight-six, the M88. Yes, everything used to be better. The bodies were eventually built by Baur, a slightly more reliable partner. 463 copies were built.
BMW Z1 Coupe (E30)
1991
In most cases, cars do not reach the production stage. That is also the case with this Z1. It is not very unfortunate, because the car is not exactly a classic beauty. It wasn’t and in the end it wasn’t. The Z1 was already a special case and this Coupé even more so. The closed version also had those crazy doors that sink. Which was foresight: the thing is higher on its wheels!
BMW Z3 Coupe (E36/8)
1998–2003
The BMW Z3 Coupé was not initially planned. There was a Roadster and it was so popular because of the open roof. The coupe version was made by a group of employees in their spare hours, according to BMW. That usually means they did it in the boss’s time without the boss knowing. The Z3 was only available with thicker six-cylinder engines. So a 2.8i and an M Coupé (no, not Z3 M Coupé, BMW enthusiasts can’t stand that). You could possibly get that 2.8 with an automatic transmission (four-speed). It was not all very thunderous as a driver’s car, but it was fun and adventurous. After the facelift things improved slightly and you could even get the S54B32 (325 hp) and the 2.8 became a 3.0 with 231 hp. These are popular young timers nowadays.
BMW Z4 Coupe (E86)
2006 – 2008
At the presentation of the Z4, the car was again presented as a ‘we did this in our spare time’ project. We (again) did not believe that at all. Certainly not because now the Coupé version was considerably tighter. As if they were taking into account the fact that a coupe was coming. As with the Z3, you could only get the Z4 Coupé with the bigger engines, the 3.0i with 265 hp or the Z4 M Coupé with 343 hp. The closed version is twice as stiff as the convertible, so the choice for the purist. In the end, 17,094 coupés were built. Exactly the reason that the subsequent Z4s no longer had a closed variant (besides the fact that it was a hardtop).
BMW Z4 Zagato Coupe (E89)
2012
No, it is certainly not the first time that a BMW Z4 Coupé is at Villa d’Este. That was already the case in 2012. It was logical that the Z4 was not available as a closed variant. After all, the car had a hardtop. The basis is the BMW Z4 sDrive35is, the top model of the model range. As befits a Zagato, the car is especially very interesting, not beautiful in a classic way.
BMW i8 (I12)
2014 – 2020
Yes, we can now talk about the new coupe, but BMW had a separate coupe in the range for a long time: the BMW i8. That was really a special car with a carbon chassis and electric motors. The car still looks very futuristic, although it has been out of production for a while. The big problem is that BMW stopped development after the introduction. That could have become the first electric 911 competitor even before the 911 went electric. BMW could have been the uncrowned king of fine-driving EVs. In the end, BMW made 20,465 copies of it.
AC Schnitzer Toyota Supra (A90)
2019 – present
We could name the Toyota Supra, but that’s too easy. The nice thing is, of course, that a typical BMW specialist such as AC Schnitzer also has enough to offer for the Toyota Supra. After all, it is technically a BMW Z4 Coupé. Whether you like it or not is personal, but it is an original car. Nowadays also one of the last cars for the enthusiast. A two-seater with six-in-line, rear-wheel drive and a manual gearbox. In 40 years this will be a true classic.
Smit Vehicle Engineering Oletha (E86)
2021 – present
This project is not from BMW itself, but too good not to mention. The Smit Oletha is a project of two American petrolheads who were not satisfied with the direction BMW was heading. So instead of complaining on the internet, they got to work themselves. The Smit Oletha resembles a BMW Z8, but is technically based on the Z4 Coupé. The bodywork looks beautiful. If you look closely, you can still recognize the tailgate of the Z4 Coupé. The engine is a heavily modified S65B40 from the E92 M3, with over 450 horsepower. At the announcement, Smit said they wanted to build 100 units to guarantee exclusivity. Our guarantee is that the car will be even more exclusive, although you can still order one. Just arrange a Z4.
BMW Concept Touring Coupe (G29)
2023
The BMW XM is an unforgiving car. You can’t market a biturbo V8 crossover coupe-like thing if you already have a biturbo V8 crossover coupe-like thing in the showroom to celebrate 50 years of ///M. Fortunately, BMW showed its good side by showing this Z4 Shooting Brake. Like many other cars in this overview, it is not so much a very beautiful car, but a very cool one.
Visually there is a little too much ‘weight’ on the rear axle due to the many sheet metal. But as you can see in this list, the separate BMW coupes are never immediately very beautiful, but they grow with time. Too bad: the chance that this car will be produced is very small and if it happens, it will be on a very small scale. Nevertheless, the BMW X6 M and the BMW XM are simply in the showroom at this time. Ouch.
This article Special BMW Coupés over the years appeared first on Autoblog.nl.
#Special #BMW #Coupés #years