BMW stunned the audience gathered at the 2023 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este where it took the wraps off the Concept Touring Coupe. Since the “Clown Shoe” revival broke cover last June, there have been plenty of reports about a potential production version. Although there was some truth as BMW did consider a limited run of cars, it’s ultimately not going to happen.
Sources close to the matter have told us the higher-ups from Munich have allegedly decided against selling the beautiful shooting brake to customers. We’ve been told a business case was built for the Z4 M40i-based coupe, with 50 units at a price of at least $250,000 apiece. However, we have heard through the grapevine the execs have canned the project. Consequently, the Concept Touring Coupe will sadly remain a one-off affair.
Rumor has it that the Z4 with a fixed roof was a pet project of the design team, and waited years before it was unveiled, but despite a significant business effort to bring it to fruition, fate was against it. BMW must’ve crunched the numbers and the math didn’t add up. It’s particularly disappointing when you consider the 3.0 CSL got the green light even though it followed a similar philosophy since it was essentially a rebodied M4 CSL.
Seeing the glass half full, BMW is sprucing up the Z4 for the 2025 model year with a long-awaited manual gearbox for the M Performance version. The three-pedal Z4 M40i is quite possibly the last hurrah for the Z lineage since the G29-generation sports car is expected to bow out in a couple of years. Production at Magna Steyr’s Graz plant in Austria is allegedly ending in March 2026, with no direct replacement in sight.
Another convertible facing the chopping block is the droptop 8 Series, with the G14 believed to be retired as well in 2026. That would leave the recently updated 4 Series Convertible as the only BMW with a folding top since the days of a 2 Series Convertible are long gone.
