BMW Concept Touring Coupe unveiled

BMW has utilised the occasion of this year’s Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este to pull the silk sheet from its striking Z4-based shooting brake concept dubbed simply, the Concept Touring Coupe.

The closed two-seater carries on the tradition of the 1940s 328 Touring Coupe and 1970s 02 Series model variants, both of which featured ‘Touring’ in their nameplate to differentiate themselves from their sedan counterparts.

Interestingly, however, BMW makes no mention of the most recent Z3 M Coupe, which offered similar origins in the ‘Z’ convertible of the day, and which also featured the so-called ‘Bread Van’ styling cues seen here that is sometimes derided as looking like a clown’s shoe in profile.

The concept vehicle is finished in a grey-brown duco embedded with flakes of blue grass called Sparkling Lario, created especially for the one-off show car. It is contrasted with silver-bronze accents and a specially designed kidney grille with longitudinal bars, staggered 20- and 21-inch lightweight alloy wheels in a 20-spoke design, and the “intricate implementation” of gold-coloured surfacing.

The Touring Coupe’s longer roof line gives the model additional cargo space – but only two seats – with the rear area upholstered in leather and with tie-down straps for one’s luggage, which itself is supplied by Italian leathersmiths, Schedoni, and coordinated to match the vehicle’s interior décor.

Further forward, the BMW Concept Touring Coupe retains the Z4’s driver-focused cockpit which is dressed in a bi-colour dark brown and light saddle brown leather finish from Italian leather workshop, Poltrona Frau. Braided leather straps contrast the upholstery and feature on the seat valences and slide bar.

Under the bonnet, BMW says simply that the concept model is powered by its “hallmark six-cylinder in-line engine” suggesting the B58-series 285kW/500Nm 3.0-litre unit offered elsewhere in the line-up is set between the front wheels.

While BMW insists the Concept Touring Coupe is a one-off design concept, Group design director, Adrian van Hooydonk, told UK publication Top Gear that all the pieces are in place to build a limited production series.

“It’s just a question of gauging interest,” he told the outlet. “When we were designing the Z4 Roadster, we had this idea of a coupe already, so we had some studies even back then.”

“If it were up to me, I’d be happy if we could do 50, like we did of the CSL. If we could do that year after year, or every second year, that would be a great thing, because then you keep adding classics to the lineage,” he added.

Mr van Hooydonk’s colleague and head of BMW Design, Domagoj Dukec, said of the concept model, “The BMW Concept Touring Coupé celebrates the original Sheer Driving Pleasure. A highly emotional vehicle like this shows that the passion for everything that goes into driving pleasure has been essential through the ages and will be for the future.”