BMW creates Z4 Shooting Brake G29 for Villa d’Este

BMW has resurrected the spirit of the original Z3 Coupé in a striking new concept car called the Touring Coupé.

Unveiled at the 2023 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este on the shore of Lake Como in Italy, the two-seat concept aims to show how a modern-day coupé variant of the third-generation Z4 may look, had it been granted production approval by the German car maker.

The Touring Coupé draws on design ideas first explored on the Z3 Coupé launched in 1998 and followed up by the sleeker Z4 Coupé introduced in 2006. It retains the familiar styling of the latest Z4 roadster at the front but adopts a two-door shooting brake silhouette at the rear to extend the impact of its appearance and provide it with added everyday practicality.

Destined to remain a one-off, the new concept was developed by a team at BMW’s Munich-based design studio. One of the Touring Coupé’s key exterior elements is a new brushed-aluminium-look kidney grille with vertical louvres in place of the black plastic honeycomb mesh insert of the production Z4 roadster.

Further back, there’s a new windscreen surround and a hard-top roof with a deep central channel. It runs back to blend with new rear three-quarter panels, forming wide pillars and substantial rear haunches to give the Touring Coupé a highly cohesive and confident stance.

The rear is distinguished by a shallow liftback-style tailgate. It sports a large spoiler element at the top, which serves to visually extend the roof, and opens at bumper height to reveal a flat storage area. The new concept also rides on uniquely designed wheels – 19in at the front and 20in at the rear.

Inside, BMW has given the Touring Coupé a more luxurious cabin than that of the standard Z4 roadster, with newly upholstered tan leather seats.

BMW says it chose the Touring Coupé name for its new concept as a nod to the 328 Touring Coupé that won the Mille Miglia in 1940. It also says the shooting brake design recalls the 2002 Touring – the first modern day BMW to receive the Touring name as a means of differentiating it from the 2002 saloon.

Z4 roadster’s front blends into a shooting brake.Ridged roof and big haunches add definition. Z4 roadster’s front blends into a shooting brake. Grille and wheels are unique for this one-off car.