The Coupé concept shown at the Concorso d'Eleganza show in Italy earlier this year proved that a stylistic marriage between BMW and Zagato has the potential to produce some very pretty offspring.
Luckily the BMW Zagato Coupé was not the last thing the two companies would collaborate on. Quite aptly they’ve just dropped an open-top roadster version under California’s sunny skies at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
BMW’s design vice president Adrian van Hooydonk says the positive reaction to the Coupé was what prompted them to take their partnership with the Italian coachbuilder a step further with this drop top.
Although the concept is quite evidently based on the BMW Z4 – BMW gives no precise technical details – the BMW Zagato Roadster ditches the Z4’s folding hardtop for a fabric roof.
Despite having been conjured up in just six weeks, the Roadster’s designers did more than just hack the roof off - its rear end sits lower and the body has an additional crease line.
In the words of Zagato’s chief designer Norihiko Harada: “This car is not designed only as an elegant convertible, but also as a masculine and extremely dynamic sports car which evokes a powerful driving experience.”
Design highlights include a low-set kidney grille where the traditional slats have been replaced by ‘z’ emblems, ‘razorlight’ LED headlight strips, ‘double bubble’ shape in the fabric roof and, of course, a long bonnet and a cabin designed to perch the driver as close to the rear wheels as possible. The car sits atop five-spoke 19-inch, propeller-inspired alloys.
Inside the roadster, a strip of brown leather wraps around the cabin like a rail – BMW says this creates a visual connection between the interior and exterior.