BMW Needs A Neue Klasse Z4 That Looks As Good As This

A designer reimagines the Z4 with Neue Klasse styling as BMW’s roadster future remains up in the air

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For more than three decades now, BMW has stubbornly kept a roadster in its line-up, starting with the oddball Z1 back in 1989, followed by the more conventional Z3 and, eventually, the Z4. These cars have long served as the brand’s playful distraction from its army of saloons and SUVs, a reminder that it occasionally remembers how to build something small, fairly light, and fun to drive.

Compared with much of BMW’s current line-up, the Z4 still manages to look like one of the brand’s more stylish efforts. The problem is that once the Neue Klasse cars start arriving, beginning with the next iX3, its design will stick out like last season’s trainers at a fashion show – which naturally fuels speculation about whether a fresh model might be coming our way.

Read: You Keep Buying Manual Z4s So GR Supra Might Stick Around A Bit Longer Too

The current Z4 is expected to bow out next year with no replacement officially confirmed. If that happens, BMW will be left without a small sports car. To fill the gap, digital artist LS Design has imagined what a Neue Klasse-inspired Z4 could look like. The result, shared on Instagram, is a vision of a compact roadster with fresher lines and plenty of attitude; and it’s hard to deny it looks rather good.

Double Kidneys on a Diet

While the roadster keeps proportions close to the current Z4, every body panel has been reworked, including the front fascia. The oversized kidney grilles are gone, replaced by smaller units that nod to BMW’s past and echo the look of the new iX3. Black trim extends toward reshaped headlights, which now feature crisp LED daytime running lights for a sharper, more technical look.

LS Design also imagined a sporty front bumper for the open-top model with an edgy lower grille and blacked-out air curtains. The sides of the car are just as attractive as the front. Sharp creases run horizontally along the doors, there are black rocker panels, and the handles have been repositioned to the top of the doors and now sit flush with the bodywork.

Will a New Z4 Happen?

For now, BMW has offered no indication that a new Z4 is in the pipeline, a prospect made more complicated by Toyota’s decision to go it alone with the next GR Supra. The current Supra shares its underpinnings and production line with the Z4, allowing both brands to benefit from economies of scale on what is a niche product in terms of sales and returns.

If the Bavarian company does release a new iteration of the sports car, there’s a chance it would morph into an EV to rival the upcoming electric Porsche Boxster and Cayman.