The BMW Z4 will be phased out after the current generation, Car and Driver reported on Wednesday.
There also won't be a special edition with a fixed roof to mark the end of the current car's run, despite BMW rolling out just such a concept at the 2023 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy, according to the report.
The Z4 is currently into its third generation. The first arrived in 2003 as a direct successor to the similar Z3 that was made famous via an appearance in the 1995 James Bond movie “GoldenEye.”
The current Z4 has been on sale since 2018 and was developed together with the current Toyota Supra, which likely helped justify the cost of developing and selling the car. It was given an update two years ago and earlier this year BMW finally added the option of a manual transmission.
Sports cars don't tend to sell in high numbers, but sales figures for the Z4 are particularly low. BMW last year sold just 1,883 examples in the U.S., in what was a record year for the automaker in this market.
2024 BMW 8-Series
Another slow seller for BMW is the 8-Series, and Car and Driver reported that the coupe and convertible versions will likely also be dropped after the current generation. The four-door Gran Coupe will reportedly stay, though. Combined sales for all 8-Series body styles in the U.S. last year were 5,751 units, and the Gran Coupe made up the bulk of them.
Previous rumors said the next 8-Series Gran Coupe will move into the 7-Series family, while at the same time the next 4-Series family will be positioned higher by adopting the 6-Series nameplate.
Any future coupe and convertible models from BMW will likely also offer electric options, as the automaker has already started preparing for a future in which it only offers electric vehicles.
