Shooting brakes occupy a strange place in the BMW universe. They shouldn’t work — a sports car with a stubby fastback tail and three doors instead of two — and yet the proportions somehow click. BMW enthusiasts have been chasing that silhouette ever since the Z3 Coupé arrived and immediately divided opinion. Love it or hate it, nobody forgot it. And as expected, on April 1st, we’ve seen some fun attempts at what a modern M Shooting Brake would look like.
The latest version of that daydream came courtesy of BMW of Brooklyn. The dealer posted an AI-generated video to Instagram showing an M2 Shooting Brake built on the M2 CS in Brooklyn Grey — gold wheels included, naturally. It racked up thousands of likes in a matter of hours.
The reaction is telling, though. Thousands of likes in a few hours says something real about the appetite for this body style. Whether that appetite translates into actual purchase decisions is a different question entirely. The Z3 Coupé (E36) sold modestly, and the Z4 Coupé (E86) — which landed with a far more conventional design — didn’t exactly fly off lots either. So the gap between “I love this” and “I’ll buy this” has always been wide.
In the meantime, the shooting brake spirit lives on through conversion projects. The Z4 Zupra Coupé — built on a Toyota Supra platform — is one of the more compelling recent examples. Part of the appeal is the rarity: these things turn heads precisely because almost nobody has one.
What’s less discussed is the fact that the BMW Touring Coupe Concept was almost built. The one-off was introduced three years ago at the iconic Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este and for a while, it was greenlit. BMW planned to do a run of 50 units at a price of $250,000. Even more interesting was the fact that the BMW Touring Coupe started life as an ALPINA car. But BMW thought that a coupe ALPINA might be a tough sell, considering the brands sedan heritage. So at the last minute, it was branded as a BMW. But if you look upclose, you will absolutely notice the ALPINA bits, from the wheels to the leather quality and stitching.
While BMW might not have plans for a new shooting brake in the near future, a handful number of owners from around the world will get to enjoy the highly-exclusive BMW Speedtop which will begin deliveries this year. As far as an affordable M2 Shooting Brake, that dream might have to wait a while, yet it’s worth remembering how the BMW M3 Touring went from April Fool’s joke to actual GT3 race entry at the 24-hour race.
First published by https://bit.ly/3sM6JoH
Comments
Post a Comment