Ice, ice baby – Check out the New BMW Z5 Frolicking on a Frozen Lake.
Posted on Tue 19th Apr 2016 at 11:10
Thanks to CarBuzz.com, we now have a pretty good idea of what the next generation of the BMW Z Series will look like. Of course, it’s covered in camouflage, but these incredible snaps – taken on a frozen lake test track in Sweden - still allow us to see that this new car is moving on from the BMW Z4 styling in a number of ways.
The BMW Z4, in case you’re unaware, was a car that didn’t quite meet the high expectations that followed the successful Z3. It was a bit too safe, a car more likely to be parked in a shopping centre than dancing on ice as we see here. The new car, expected to be called the Z5, is likely to take BMW’s affordable sports offering back to pre E89 roots and deliver a sports-car quality experience. It will most likely be built on a aluminium and carbon fibre chassis similar to that of the BMW 7-Series, meaning that it will weigh less and perform better than previous models. Engine choice is by no means confirmed, but it’s a safebet that one option will be a three litre straight-six guaranteed to make the Porsche 911 look a little nervous. Although the car will remain a convertible, the Z4’s metal roof will be exchanged for a lighter, prettier fabric soft-top. We’ll have to wait for an un-camouflaged version to bring you details of all the changes, something that is sure to happen closer to the big reveal in 2017. You might be interested to know, in the meantime, that this car is being developed in conjunction with Toyota.