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Z6: BMW's Z8 for the masses?
Z8 successor aims for lower price, volume production
BMW is plotting a return to the high-end sports car market with a dramatically styled coupe and roadster aimed at providing the German carmaker with a rival to the hugely successful Mercedes-Benz SL.
Dubbed Z6, Munich’s latest flagship sports car is conceived as a follow-up to the high-priced and ultra-low-volume Z8, which saw production of just 5703 cars between 1999 and 2003. Z6 will be priced below the $130,000 Z8, and insiders say it will be produced in “considerable volumes.” The car will be built in Germany and will be a high-tech showcase for many of BMW’s latest innovations.
“It is not just a flash in the pan,” a source told AutoWeek at the launch of the Z4 M Coupe. “We’re looking at establishing a whole new model line.”
At least one full-size model of the new car reportedly exists at BMW’s research and development center in Munich, though the final design is still up in the air. The car will form part of a rumored three-strong Z-car lineup including a new entry-level Z2 and a successor to today’s Z4.
The two-seater is already developed to an advanced stage and enjoys strong support from the BMW board.
“A go-ahead is likely, provided BMW can find the necessary engineering capacity,” said the source.
Z6 will be about the same size as the existing 6 Series and will borrow mechanical components from both the 6 Series and the 5 Series. But while the 6 Series was conceived as a luxurious 2+2 GT, the Z6 is envisioned as a pure sports car.
Original reports suggested the Z6 may boast a mid-engine design, but BMW appears to have settled on a traditional front-engine format. The aim, according to one high-ranking insider, is to create a car that combines BMW’s traditional strengths of top-level performance, handling and quality with a raft of new innovations, including lightweight construction to provide it with strong levels of performance but also class-leading levels of economy and low-emission levels.
An M5 powertrain formed the basis of the Z8 supercar; look for lots of M5 and 6 Series hardware under the Z6 sports car.
Keen to avoid the criticism leveled at the Z8, with a design influenced by BMW’s legendary 507, the Z6 boasts a contemporary design with cues from the Z4. The highlight of the new sports car is its high-tech structure—a combination of aluminum space frame and steel unibody construction. BMW is planning to take this technique, pioneered on the 5 Series and 6 Series, one step further in a move aimed at bringing the Z6 to market at less than 3300 pounds.
Rather than using aluminum for the front end only, engineers are investigating using the material for the middle section as well. This should help to achieve a desired 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution.
Unlike the Z8, which was sold exclusively with a 5.0-liter, 400-hp V8, Z6 will come with a range of engines. Sources suggest the lineup will likely kick off with the new 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged inline six-cylinder, with a range-topping version packing Munich’s secret 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 and an updated version of the M5’s 5.0-liter V10.
Channeling drive to the rear wheels will be a new double-clutch sequential manual gearbox.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060524/FREE/60523003/1024_________________
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