BMW teams with Zagato on a second concept, this one to make its formal debut in Pebble Beach.
Mere months after revealing the results of their first new collaboration in decades, BMW is getting ready to roll out a second concept it has developed in a collaboration with the legendary Zagato design house.
The maker isn’t saying much about the show car, other than promising to reveal full details and the show car itself during a presentation at the weekend’s tony Pebble Beach Concours. While it’s not expected to make the jump to production, the two Zagato studies are expected to have a significant influence on BMW’s future design direction, especially in the roadster and small coupe segments.
BMW and Zagato have long had on-and-off-ties and they rekindled their relationship with the unveiling of the first concept coupe at Italy’s equally prestigious Concorso Villa d’Este, in May.
The only surviving independent coachbuilder in Italy, Zagato turned both projects over to chief designer Norihiko Harada to develop the new look for BMW. While the grainy image seen here doesn’t reveal much it suggests that there are likely to be some distinct differences from the double-bubble approach that Harada crafted for the Villa d’Este version – beyond the fact that the new concept is a 2-door roadster.
The BMW Zagato Coupe concept took a detour through the Alps on its way to Villa d'Este.
The earlier Zagato coupe, incidentally, was basically a take on the current BMW Z4, and featured a 400 horsepower twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six. In the current sDrive35is version of the Z4 roadster that same basic powertrain makes a less aggressive 340 hp.
BMW will have a high-profile presence during the long Pebble Beach weekend and the various Concours spinoff events. Three of its classic models will be racing in the Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Mazda Raceway – otherwise known as Laguna Seca. That includes a 1975 BMW 3.5 CSL similar to the one that won the 12 Hours of Sebring that year, a 1980 BMW M1 Procar, and a 1986 BMW-March GTP.
Meanwhile, the German maker tells us, “The new 2013 BMW 7 Series will make its North American debut with a special highlight on the new 540-hp BMW ALPINA B7 supersedan. Other product highlights include the stunning new BMW 650i Gran Coupe and, in honor of 2012 being the 40th anniversary of BMW M, the all-new BMW M5 and M6.”