Remember July 2012? Those care-free, happy days, when Britain was in the grip of Olympic fever, Donald Trump was not newsworthy every single day and the
BMW M135i
had just arrived, ready to shake up the sector for years to come.
While five years ago that hot rod hot hatch seemed the big BMW news, the confirmation of a manufacturing agreement with Toyota is now the more significant.
Because, after five years of spy shots and rumours and 'new Supra' speculation, we have something tangible from the partnership.
Well, sort of. This picture is the teaser issued by BMW on its Facebook page about an upcoming debut at Pebble Beach. Under the caption 'You never know what the darkness unveils next', BMW has shown a two-door convertible sketch ahead of the full car being shown on August 17th.
What it it? We would guess a Z5, given the Z4 is due for replacement, it replaced the Z3 and a sporty model was planned as part of the original agreement. Obviously there's not a great deal to talk about yet, though the silhouette is familiar from previous BMW roadsters (i.e. front-engined, rear-drive, interior pushed back to the rear wheels). We can also see that it will have lights, wheelarches, a windscreen... Let's see what the rest of it is like in a couple of weeks!
On a more serious point, could this car finally be the decent BMW sports car so many have been wanting for the past 20 years? While the saloons and coupes have usually always delivered, the convertibles very seldom have. Maybe with Toyota's input this could be the car. Then maybe that new Supra might arrive...
[Photo: BMW via Facebook]
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