Who says the coupe is dead? Well, anyone who reads the sales charts, it seems. But this traditional “symbol of freedom on four wheels” just might be ripe for a comeback, or so suggests BMW which is pulling the wraps off the Concept Touring Coupe during the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2023.
The BMW Concept Touring Coupe isn’t just another two-door design. Nor is it one of BMW’s sedan-as-coupe four doors. Wags will likely compare it to the short-lived Z3 Coupe launched in 1999, but the new model is far less quirky and focused on a much more exclusive buyers.
“The BMW Concept Touring Coupé celebrates the original Sheer Driving Pleasure,” says Domagoj Dukec, BMW’s chief designer, ahead of the show vehicle’s Italian premier. “A highly emotional vehicle like this shows that the passion for everything that goes into driving pleasure has been essential through the ages and will be for the future.”
Classic inspiration
Fitting for a vehicle debuting at the annual Concorso Villa d’Este, the Concept Touring Coupe draws inspiration from the Bavarian automaker’s past – Dukec’s team inspired by the BMW Touring Coupe that won the vaunted Mille Miglia endurance race back in 1940. It also offers “a nod,” the automaker suggests, to the various BMW 02 models of the 1970s. They were badged “Touring,” it points out, to “distinguish them from (the) sedans” of that era.
Somewhat wagon-like in its two-box proportions, the new Concept Touring Coupe features a deeply sculpted back end that, appropriately is distinguished by the classic Hofmeister kink in the side windows.
The flared rear fenders give the concept a sense of muscularity and athleticism, enhanced by the long and relatively low nose and broad take on the familiar BMW double-kidney grille.
The Concept Touring Coupe’s bodywork is finished in a unique “Sparkling Lario” paint its gray-brown hues accented by embedded flakes of blue glass. That contrasts with silver-bronze accents and asymmetric light-alloy wheels. They measure 20 inches up front, 21 in the rear.
A lavishly appointed interior
Where the Z3 Coupe targeted a relatively affordable market niche, the Concept Touring Coupe is clearly meant for the most exclusive of buyers, as underscored by the matching set of luggage from the exclusive Italian leather workshop Poltrona F Schedoni leather workshop in Modena.
As you’d expect from BMW, of course, there’s a driver-oriented cockpit. A long binnacle provides shade for the twin, landscape-oriented digital displays. Of course, the show car features the latest version of the familiar BMW iDrive controller.
The cabin is divided horizontally into two distinct color segments, BMW notes, with leather that, again, has been provided by another vaunted tannery, Italy’s Poltrona Frau.
The dark brown upper is meant to “aid concentration while driving,” the automaker explains. The lower section features warmer, lighter saddle brown.
“Developed for one-off production”
“Precise perforations, as well as braided leather straps for the seat valences and slide bar, highlight the artisan character of the interior, which combines traditional craftsmanship at the highest level with modern design principles,” the automaker says in a statement about the Touring show car.
Power for the Concept Touring Coupe comes from BMW’s familiar inline-six engine – though the automaker is providing no further details. One could imagine that performance would need to match the exclusive appearance of the show car.
Sadly, at least for those who might find themselves drawn to the Concept Touring Coupe, BMW says it will remain just that – “developed for one-off production.”
Whether the concept might influence the direction of future products, however, remains to be seen.
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- Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2023/05/bmw-concept-touring-coupe-draws-from-the-past-to-provide-a-hint-of-the-future/
