If you crave a new BMW Z4 roadster, you might want to talk to your dealer about reserving one—but don't take your time about it. BMW has announced the end of production of its only convertible sports car in August. After that, any new Z4 you see on a dealer's lot will be NOS—new old stock.
It may seem like just the other day, but production of the second-generation Z4 roadster began in 2009, and has now reached the end of its seven-year run. Normally, BMW has a replacement waiting in the wings when they discontinue a model, but not so in this case. A new roadster has been developed, but it will be months—perhaps, many, many months—before BMW is ready to reveal it, let alone start shipping it to dealers.
Time lapses before introducing a replacement model are rare, but not unheard of. After all, there was a 30-year gap between the BMW 507 and the next BMW roadster, the Z1. After the Z1, BMW waited four years before introducing the Z3. The Z4, however, was ready almost immediately after BMW stopped making Z3s and has been in continuous production since 2002, so perhaps we have been spoiled for the last 20-plus years, always having a BMW roadster we could buy.
Development of the follow-on roadster for the Z4 has been a little more complicated than normal. For the last three or four years, BMW has been working with Toyota on a joint project that would eventually produce a new roadster for BMW, and a new—something—for Toyota. Most industry analysts believe the Toyota end of the deal will result in a new Supra, but Toyota hasn’t exactly been forthcoming with many details. There have been reports—we call them rumors—that Magna-Steyr will build both the BMW and Toyota partnership vehicles under contract in Graz, Austria.
E89 Z4s have been—and for the next few weeks, will be—manufactured in BMW’s Regensburg plant.
We think we know what the Z4’s replacement will look like, sort of. Spy photos have revealed a camouflaged BMW roadster with a soft convertible top kicking up its heels during winter testing and on the track. BMW sources have admitted that the Z4’s hardtop will become a collector’s item; the new roof will be fabric, to cut down on weight, among other reasons.
We can expect the next roadster to be significantly lighter than the E89, in keeping with BMW’s design philosophy that lighter weight translates to lower emissions, better fuel mileage, and all-around better performance.
Currently, BMW offers three Z4 models in the U.S.: The Z4 sDrive28i with the two-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged 240 horsepower engine has a base price of $49,700. The Z4 sDrive35i, with a 300-horse, three-liter inline six, also turbocharged that starts at $57,500; and the Z4 sDrive35is, with an MSRP of $66,350 and a 335-horsepower, six-cylinder, three-liter turbo that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
We don’t know what the next roadster will have under it’s undoubtedly long hood, but we expect at least as much power as the E89 Z4 and probably more.
Last year, BMW executives stated that we might not see the next roadster before the end of the decade. The spy shots of a roadster being tested seem to indicate a possible new sports car by the end of 2018. The only thing we know for sure is that it will be a BMW and that means that BMW will keep us guessing until it’s good and ready to show us the next Z car.
Meanwhile, let’s take a moment to reflect on the end of the E89 Z4’s production run, and hope that BMW will not subject us to a long roadster gap.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG and Autoevolution.]
