BMW plots new supercar
The Z6: lighter, greener and a tech showcase
Z8: more of a California cruiser
According to this week's Autocar magazine, the new Z6 will be more focused, lighter and greener than its predecessor, and will belly up to the Merc SL and the Ferrari F430. It's alleged to be more than just a follow-up to the Z8 though, as volumes are expected to be higher. BMW hopes to make some 15,000 a year, compared to the total of almost 6,000 during the four-year lifespan of the Z8.
Flame-surfaced, it looks in outline like a cross between the Nissan 350Z and a bulky 911. it'll be around the same size as a 6-Series -- some of whose parts it'll use -- although it'll be more of a sports car than a the 6-Series GT.
It's front-engined and could be powered by a turbocharged V8 or straight six. It'll use an aluminium spaceframe chassis, with the whole thing weighing under 1,500Kg.
The Z6 is designed to showcase BMW's advanced technologies in the weight- and fuel-saving areas, so it may well get a carbon-fibre skin, along with extensive use of exotic materials such as magnesium.
Autocar suggests that the technologies deployed in the Z6 are likely to trickle down into lesser models over the next 10 years, including the next 3-Series. These include controlled air-flaps for improved cooling management, smaller, more powerful turbocharged engines with cam-less valvetrains, hybrid transmissions, foam cores, and sensors.
So again another car who slept with the Nissan 350Z...seems like pay back time from the China and japan cars
they copyd all they like in the early days...now the Germans are coming back? 
I'll wait and see what comes next...but the lighter, and faster sounds good to me only not that big as a 6 series... GTRene
nickjm said:
Interesting....
riiiiight, lets see those wheels are poorly enlarged versions of those small ones on early E39 series, I strongly suspect this might be some fantasy creation with little basis on reality.
However the front has potential, put it in a colour other than silver, put some decent wheels on it, and redesign the back and it won't be so bad.
I like the fact they are trying to keep it light and efficient but powerful, however a SL55 and F430 are two quite different cars, the SL competes with the 6 series and the F430 is really miles away from anything BMW would make. This thing sounds more like its aimed at the 911 than anything else.
The question is after the Z4 we will presumably have the Z5, but from then on the names will become confusing.
franv8 said:
It sounds more like an Autocar 'Exclusive' - especially since the new car will apparently sport technology such as invisibility mode, teleport capability and anti-gravity, which of course will trickle down to lesser models...
Yeah - according to Autocar and Auto Express, we should have had the 'new' M1, the 1-series based Z2 and the M7 by now
franv8 said:
It sounds more like an Autocar 'Exclusive' - especially since the new car will apparently sport technology such as invisibility mode, teleport capability and anti-gravity, which of course will trickle down to lesser models...
The main reason I stopped buying Autocar after about 20 years was the fact it had turned into a weekly BMW fanzine!
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