[Red Bread]

Thank you S26. Honestly the first BMW to have my personal interest in about a decade.

[atha]

i think it could be smth like 2 series grand coupe

[jzmundy]

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

It does show you that an M2 with CFRP roof is completely feasible.

Well, that's a tantalizing thought...

[nemex12]

Originally Posted by RL530xit

Test mule for new Z2? Fitted with carbon fiber to reduce weight and be in line with the Z's?

I think this may be the explanation, or the joint venture with toyota. time will tell

[Fugly M3]

I'm going to make this interesting! I started to agree with the roadster argument and then looked at the pictures closely. If you look at a Z3/Z4 you'll see the seats literally back right up to the rear wheels. That doesn't appear to be the case here. The seats are pushed a little bit forward. Also, the rear wheel well/quarter panel look to be flared quite a bit. Is it too outrageous to think BMW is planning a proper mid-engined, RWD car to compete with the likes of the Boxster/Cayman and Alfa 4C? I don't think so.

[twin fed]

Originally Posted by W///

I usually agree with you on most things, but not this time. And this is coming from an engineer in the automotive industry.

I'm willing to bet that this is NOT the M2. Makes 0 sense to modify the wheel base and roof line of the car for an M2 that might account for 1/5 of the sales of the 2 series (consider that Europe gets diesel cars).

Not to mention we've already seen 3 prototypes (the black, white and then most recently the red one) that showed wider arches to accommodate M3/4 running gear. So all of a sudden, they went backwards and to an M235i style components? Makes no sense. Not to mention, on the red car they've more or less shown the front end of the car (bumper), and now all of a sudden they've gone back?

Think about BMW's Roadster, going all the way back to the 60s. Shorter rear end, longish front end. If you look from the character line down, you can almost see roadster proportions if you ignore the rear bumper skin.

Lastly: The 2er has already limited rear legroom. BMW is not going to shorten the wheelbase even more to make it essentially a 2 seater (again showing that this is a completely different project).

My 2 cents. Having said that, this kind of gives me hope that the M2 will get CF roof and hood. I'm really hopefully it does.

P.S. There are plenty of instances of manufacturers testing brand new platform on a current gen body FYI. Not that unheard of.

Agree

[thorsen82]

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

Welcome back to the BMW Z3.

those car will run on actual f20 platform?

[Artemis]

[VMRWheels]

Wow, very interesting

[MyKmYk]

This is undoubtedly a Z car.

[Rated M Roadster]

Originally Posted by Adem1534

Thank you.

To me, it's clear as day, and I understand what others are saying, but to put it bluntly I think they're completely wrong.

Laughing at how wrong you were after all those posts.

[EmPower]

Its not a BMW factory mule; more likely a tuner car with a new body structure.

[Eddien123]

Originally Posted by BlackJetE90

Has BMW ever shortened the wheelbase and chopped the roof for a refresh?

Especially on a low volume seller like the 2-series.

I just figured it's very much like the 2 already. Maybe they are going to because they want to widen the gap between a 235 and m2

[Racer20]

I wonder how many people will keep posting wrong guesses before they realize that Scott26 told us what it is on page 5. (New Z3)

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by Adem1534

The people saying that this is Toyota/BMW are forgetting the fact that this Roofline drop is CLEARLY well executed. Look at the fitment, it's flawless.

You don't alter and re-sculpt body panels to test for a toyota/bmw joint car. The sculpting has clearly been stylized. This is for a production model.

Well Scott already let the cat out of the bag, it is the Z3 mule.

Originally Posted by Racer20

I wonder how many people will keep posting wrong guesses before they realize that Scott26 told us what it is on page 5. (New Z3)

Pretty much everyone but a few people new it was some sort of new Z.

[hellrotm]

Originally Posted by W///

I usually agree with you on most things, but not this time. And this is coming from an engineer in the automotive industry.

I'm willing to bet that this is NOT the M2. Makes 0 sense to modify the wheel base and roof line of the car for an M2 that might account for 1/5 of the sales of the 2 series (consider that Europe gets diesel cars).

Not to mention we've already seen 3 prototypes (the black, white and then most recently the red one) that showed wider arches to accommodate M3/4 running gear. So all of a sudden, they went backwards and to an M235i style components? Makes no sense. Not to mention, on the red car they've more or less shown the front end of the car (bumper), and now all of a sudden they've gone back?

Think about BMW's Roadster, going all the way back to the 60s. Shorter rear end, longish front end. If you look from the character line down, you can almost see roadster proportions if you ignore the rear bumper skin.

Lastly: The 2er has already limited rear legroom. BMW is not going to shorten the wheelbase even more to make it essentially a 2 seater (again showing that this is a completely different project).

My 2 cents. Having said that, this kind of gives me hope that the M2 will get CF roof and hood. I'm really hopefully it does.

P.S. There are plenty of instances of manufacturers testing brand new platform on a current gen body FYI. Not that unheard of.

This exactly. Plus bean counters are running BMW now. They would never approve such drastic and expensive changes for the M2. Lets not forget the M2 is the entry level M-car.

[gulshan]

Diesel 335d owners rejoice. M235d is coming ...

[SCOTT26]

Originally Posted by thorsen82

those car will run on actual f20 platform?

No it is not the F22 Chassis underneath which is why the body is shortened.
For more clues let us say that Winter is coming...
But this prototype also shows possibilities for the M2.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by mapezzul

IMHO way too polished to be a mule. Could be a side project car that has no production intent. Also very strange this would be driven on the street in this form- usually these are trailered to the test track (I've taken photos at that location) by M if they are not in camo. Also a big no-no in Germany to have no front plate! Might be like the pickup truck M3 from several years ago. But seems strange they would go through all that work to make the gaps right and one off a roof and quick release hood if it was for a "Z" model they could just use a MINI clubman for.

Maybe it is a pace car or GT3 base car....

Dunno but obviously BMW wanted us to speculate because these types of shots are more often then not staged (imagine that).

Front license plate can be seen inside the car, on top of the dashboard(low) where the wipers are.

[puma1552]

Originally Posted by SCOTT26

Welcome back to the BMW Z3.

cool, now dont pull a z4 and price it so far out of its element nobody will buy it and then claim the sports car market is dead

but somehow im sure it will still end up approaching $60k loaded.

[SCOTT26]

I posted this long ago. There is another article I am still looking for.

"The Z4 becomes the Z5 and will share with a Toyota as will a Z3 Both are RWD.
The engineering schematics for the Carbon intensive architecture is impressive. You are going to see so much for so little with the combined force of BMW and Toyota using all their resources available.

BMW wants to re-invent its Z series sports cars and make them as cutting edge and influential as the BMWi models by visual appearance and state of the art engineering to highlight a new BMW philosophy for sports cars.

Vision ConnectedDrive and 328 Homage concepts are the template for the visuals. Plans also include a slightly massaged three cylinder entirely unique and exclusive in the Z3 Mille Miglia mimicking the classic 328 to provide excellent dynamics using lightweight materials."

[Manbnda]

BMW is messing with us, they wouldn't be so incautious with the "first ever M2".
Good thing is that they already have a CFR for the M2.
Does it make sense to have a shorter wheelbase for the M version of a car? I don't think so.
The only logical explanation for me is that it's "a chassis" what they are testing. They are using the body of a pseudo 2 series, and they are cutting body weight factor by using CFR and CFH to get that mule body out of the equation as much as possible.