Rumors: Z2

Many of our die-hard readers have asked this question a lot: “Where is all the news about the Z2?”. Simply, things have been fairly quiet around the BMW cyber-water cooler in regards to the diminutive sports coupe and for a good reason. With the imminent launch of the newest generation ‘Z‘ BMW does not want the public to be aware that a smaller and cheaper car is in the works; well not just yet.

The recent turmoil in the global economy and the car business in general has led manufacturers to look towards decreasing the number of models and overall investment in development. Another threat looms on the horizon in the new EU, and CAFE standards for efficiency and emissions. BMW has already implemented some its “Efficient Dynamics” technologies in current models but more is coming in the upcoming months and years. The Z2 if built would help BMW hit these new targets and keep the brands sport image.

If the Z2 gets the official green light from the corporate big-whigs it will be built on the next generation 1 series platform, which is still several years away. In short, we will not being test mules anytime soon so everything is truly rumor and speculation at this point though we can give some clues from a reliable source.

The Z2 has been pushed by designers as a platform to use for efficiency and sporting intentions. It may feature a choice of diesel or gasoline 4 cylinder turbo with a mild-hybrid much like the 7 Series Active Hybrid Concept. BMW is shooting for a groundbreaking car here in terms of driving dynamics and efficiency. The roof is rumored to be a manually operated cloth variant to keep weight and costs down so the car can hit an obtainable price-point for a large number of sales.

As we here more we will let you know but do not be surprised if it is later than sooner….

photo: AutoZeitung.de