2018 BMW Z5 Release Date, Price and Spy Photos

A couple of years back Toyota and BMW signed an agreement to build a new set of sports cars. The two would later be unveiled to be the future 2018 Toyota Supra and the 2018 BMW Z5. The latter is expected to be the first of the two cars to be released. Unlike the Supra, the Z5 is going to be a two-seats convertible, and it will not come with a hard-top. Instead, it seems BMW will offer the Z5 only as a soft-top but more on that later.

This time around the Z5 will be built on a brand new platform so that it will share very little with BMW’s other cars. Even though this is not official, it seems BMW is using heavy amounts of aluminum and little high strength steel. Some composites may also be used in its suspension system in order to reduce the unsprung weight by as much as possible.

 

2018 BMW Z5 Price, Release Date and Details

The car has been spied a few times already and it doesn’t look all that special, at least in camouflage. Even so, there are a few people out there saying some interesting things about it, most of which actually check out. For starters, the new platform the Z5 is using has a really short wheelbase.

It is considerably shorter than the Z4 and this is quite clear when the car is seen from the profile. The wheels are pushed inside by quite a bit and the overhangs are quite long. This might be a bit worrying, especially since the Z5 has to be great in order to be successful. The short wheelbase would mean the BMW Z5 2018 will feel more lively than before, but it also means there will be some limitations. For starters the engine might not be in a front-mid position which would not be ideal. Also, the long overhangs could create an unusual design, but more on that later.

The car is actually expected to be revealed quite soon and its price should also be revealed in the upcoming months. Like the Z4, the 2018 BMW Z5 will more than likely start around $50,000.

How Will it Look?

Unfortunately, we have only seen the camouflaged development mules but these did reveal a few things about the production model. BMW’s large kidney grille will be present here as well. Also, its headlights seem to be more similar to those on the Z8 than anything else which is also quite interesting. The rear end seems to take some inspiration from the Z4 but the car is definitely wider and it does feature a small fixed wing. With the roof down it seems there is quite a bit of space behind the seats which may be used as storage space. This might be needed as the soft-top would cover a good part of the trunk. The rake on the windshield is quite close to the Z4, so the finished design shouldn’t be that alien to most of us.

2018 BMW Z5 Interior

Even though the car is still a few months away from release, its interior has been leaked a while back. It seems that the 2018 BMW Z5 will feature a very similar cabin to that found in the 4 Series. The infotainment screen, steering wheel, instrument cluster and even part of the center console is similar to the larger coupe. However, the center console does seem to be wider and it seems to be angled towards the driver which would create the feel of a cockpit.

Under the Hood

Even though it does have a rather short wheelbase, the 2018 BMW Z5 also has a long hood. This should allow it to house an inline six engine without much trouble. Rumors suggest that it will come with at least two powertrains. The base model is expected to receive a 2-liter turbo four with around 260 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque. The higher end version, on the other hand, should get their 3-liter turbo or twin turbo inline 6 with anything between 320 and 450 horsepower. The latter would be an M-developed version. Even though this is not official, there is a strong indication that the Z5 will come with a six-speed manual as standard. An automatic gearbox, most likely BMW’s 7 or 9-speed unit, should be offered as an option across the range. At this point, it seems all cars will feature a limited slip differential.