We’ve posted several sets of pictures of BMW’s new mystery roadster. While many thought this was the new Z9 (or Z6) because of the car’s size and folding hardtop, others thought this was the next-generation Z4, which is expected to grow to make room for a new Z2 entry-level roadster.

These new photos — the first with the top down — provides some insights that this is actually a prototype of the next Z4. This hard plastic camouflage is typical of BMW, but we’ve never seen it quite so far off of the underlying body panels, which makes the car look much bigger than it really is. At the base of the windshield, this prototype has at least a four inch gap between the camo and the actual vehicle.

The are other clues that indicate this is likely the more mass market Z4, including the prototype’s cloth interior (which would never be seen on car like the Z9), and, with the top down, it looks like a conventional softtop, not the hardtop that is expected on the Z9. Finally, an MX-5 Miata was spotted near the prototype all day, and the MX-5 is not the car you’d have on hand for comparision if your target was the Mercedes SL. Not that the MX-5 would be the target for an larger, more upscale Z4 either.

## Source: Winding Road ##

Posted in: BMW, Spy Shots, Roadsters, Future Vehicles
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