This is the BMW Concept Touring Coupe, a shooting-brake two-seater that harks back to some of the company’s historical models – such as the 328 Touring Coupe of the 1940s and 02 models from the 1970s – and which is based on BMW’s Z4 Roadster.
It’s an elegant piece of hand-crafted work with a decent amount of space at the rear designed to accommodate your luggage – a set of custom-made leather bags was made for the concept – when you embark on those long, lazy weekends away. Getting to that luggage space means interacting with a nicely sculpted rear-end that highlights the concept’s muscular stance.
That muscular shape at the back houses 21-inch light-alloy wheels, while up front are 20-inch wheels. Details of the powertrain are sketchy, with BMW saying only that the Concept Touring Coupe is powered by a six-cylinder in-line engine (the Z4 has a 3-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine).
Up front, the design is familiar but there’s a unique grille with longitudinal bars. The body has a paint created especially for the concept – a ‘Sparkling Lario’ paintwork with embedded flakes of blue glass designed to give some depth to the grey-brown hue.
On the inside, the Z4 layout is given some extra sparkle with a tri-colour trim from Italian leather workshop Poltrana Frau that includes some baseball glove-style stitching. Technology is top-notch, of course, with the infotainment system given a tweak with a unique graphical set-up.
With the auto industry racing towards electrification, there’s a question as to whether a concept like this might see production, even in a limited form, but as a fully working concept based on the proven Z4 platform, it would be nice to think BMW is seriously considering
giving this one a chance.”
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (June 2023)
26 June 2023
