Yearly — perhaps even more frequently — rumors surrounding a new BMW supercar seem to surface. Whether it’s a defunct electric supercar project or nutty wedge-shaped supercar prototypes, you don’t have to look far — or have that great of a memory — to recall a supposed supercar from Bavaria. More often than not, these projects end up on the cutting room floor, rather than hitting your nearest showroom. The notion of a BMW supercar — and its perceived failure to launch — splits BMW enthusiasts. And in fact, there’s a compelling argument to be made that BMW should instead focus on bringing better and more regular ol’ sports cars to market.
A BMW Sports Car Could’ve Existed This Decade — Maybe It Already Does
One potentially missed opportunity is the current generation Z4. Enthusiasts — your narrator included — feel that the G29 Z4 would’ve been perfect with a fixed-roof version. Dynamically, the car delivers everything you need. Stylistically, it fits the part. With the added rigidity and swoopy silhouette a coupe body style offered, there’s little more to ask for as an enthusiast. Of course, the car we have described absolutely already exists in the Toyota Supra — which may be the closest we’ve gotten to a true BMW sports car any time in the last decade.
That said: anyone remember the Supra GRMN? Persistent rumors suggested Toyota/BMW might stick the S58 under the hood some day. Alas, it looks like that plan never came to fruition, since the Supra leaves production next Spring. Neither “Final Edition” Supra (very different cars came to Europe/RoW and US) touted the M-sourced power plant, unfortunately.
How in the world did BMW miss the chance to stuff the Z4’s hood with the rowdy twin-turbo engine? A coupe would’ve been a dream come true, but even as a Roadster, an M-tooled Z4 would’ve made even the awesome Z4 Handschalter tame by comparison. The car’s benefits would’ve been enormous: primarily, brand cachet and an approachable price (all of the parts would be off the shelf, after all) that still would’ve been profitable.
Is Time Running Out For Another BMW Sports Car?
There are three parts of the “sports car” spectrum. The first and most accessible range is the $30,000-$40,000 market where cars like the Toyota GR86 and Mazda Miata play. There’s no chance we’ll see BMW develop an entrant there, even though it could. That leaves the second extreme, the market where cars like the Porsche Cayman and Corvette exist. The $70,000 — $80,000 market is where BMW’s Z4 sports car could have thrived. Lastly, there’s base Porsche 911 territory, around $130,000.
We’ll be realistic: $130,000 is probably too much to ask for a BMW sports car. Between the i8 — which was never a huge success critically or financially — and the frankly disastrous XM, we’re not sure BMW M has the street cred to pull off a true Porsche 911 competitor. Developing a dedicated sports car platform is also expensive, and we’re not sure BMW themselves would ever have the conviction. Unless, of course, BMW eschewed gas power and beat everyone to the punch (except maybe Tesla) with a true EV sports car. Which, naturally, opens up a can of worms itself…
That leaves our best bet on a BMW sports car in the $75,000 range, likely extending up to $90,000 or so. With the possibility of a hybridized S58 coming to market, we think the performance benchmark would be easy to meet. Around 600 horsepower would be no trouble. Assuming BMW could keep weight down, possibly by relying on a tweaked Z4/Supra platform, the car would still be a performance dynamo.
For now, BMW is laser focused on Neue Klasse. So, the outlook for an ICE BMW sports car doesn’t seem good. Especially with the half-million dollar Skytop green lit, BMW’s probably tapped out when it comes to bringing somewhat dubious concepts to life. They shouldn’t be, since the Skytop is going to print money for the brand — they’re sold out. Maybe next time instead of a 50-unit run of a half-million dollar halo car, the brand will consider a 5000-unit run of a hundred-thousand dollar sports car that will actually get driven.
