Save for the occasional distinctive Rolls-Royce, most of us thought coachbuilding was a misplaced artwork that died many a long time in the past. It’s one factor to design a reasonably idea for automobile reveals and one other to truly construct it. BMW has a protracted historical past of unveiling stunning one-offs on the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, however none went into manufacturing till lately. There was final 12 months’s Skytop, adopted lately by the Speedtop. However what when you wished one thing with Italian aptitude? Enter the Bovensiepen Zagato.
We first noticed the M4-based stunner on the Villa d’Este and shortly after on the Goodwood Pageant of Pace. The coachbuilt BMW will debut in North America at Monterey Automotive Week on the Idea Automotive Garden (August 8–17) and seem at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, on August 15.
Though a coupe, the automobile is definitely based mostly on the M4 Convertible, therefore the absence of B-pillars. The Italian design home has labored on BMWs earlier than (bear in mind the Zagato Cup and Roadster?), however that is its first mission based mostly on an M4. Zagato collaborated with Andreas and Florian Bovensiepen, sons of the late ALPINA founder Burkard Bovensiepen, to convey the automobile to life, double-bubble roof and all.
For the sake of readability, the automobile doesn’t come from the standard ALPINA firm, now below the BMW Group umbrella. As an alternative, the 2 brothers based a separate firm, Bovensiepen Vehicle, additionally based mostly in Buchloe, just like the historic agency their late father began 60 years in the past.
People will now get to see the G83-based coupe up shut, sporting a brand new carbon fiber pores and skin over its authentic physique. The Bovensiepen Zagato has dual-layer bodywork as a result of eradicating the BMW panels would’ve required re-homologating the automobile. You may think about that it could’ve been a pricey course of for a newly based firm. Protecting the OEM panels additionally means the coupe is simply as secure as its BMW counterpart.
Bovensiepen has offset among the weight penalty by ditching the M4 Convertible’s clunky roof mechanism. The coupe is definitely 50 kilograms (110 kilos) lighter than the G83, tipping the scales at 1,875 kg (4,133 lbs). Whereas huge modifications have been made, the laser taillights are a transparent giveaway that it’s based mostly on a 4 Collection.
There’s no guide gearbox, as that is meant to be a GT. Becoming a 3rd pedal would have been tough anyway for the reason that M4 Convertible comes solely with all-wheel drive. All of BMW’s xDrive automobiles come solely in automated guise. Bovensiepen has unlocked an additional 79 hp and 50 Nm (37 lb-ft) from the S58 twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six. Nevertheless, the convertible-turned-coupe is extra about its distinctive design.
Bovensiepen hasn’t finalized pricing, however the few deliberate examples will reportedly value €400,000 to €500,000. Rumor has it BMW charged rich consumers half one million euros for the sold-out Skytop and Speedtop. The targa convertible and taking pictures brake have been each based mostly on the bigger M8.
