Quote:
Originally Posted by Law
... The most efficient MPG and all the carbon fibre in the world doesn't mean jack if the cars lack soul and are artificial in feel/sound, particularly in this segment of 2-seater coupes and roadsters.
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I think there are other qualities in play in the roadster market:
1. Prestige (which explains the Mercedes SL's popularity)
2. Value (which explains the Mazda Miata's popularity)
The BMW Z line has good prestige and value, but never nailed either one.
Prestige and value, to me, are at the high and low end of the market.
BMW tried to carve out a niche in the middle.
Didn't work. There is no "middle end" in the roadster market.
So what angle can BMW try next?
Performance? Maybe. As mentioned by the OP, there are plenty of fast AMG and Jaguar roadsters.
M Division could easily build a super-fast Z5. But would it sell?
Technology? Probably the only avenue left. The Carbon Core technology could be used in the Z5.
And maybe Toyota will pay a licensing fee to use that technology in their Supra (or whatever it will be called.)
Either way, it's likely that BMW has crunched the numbers and decided that they can't afford to build a Z5 by themselves.
So they're forced to split development costs with Toyota.
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'17 BMW M2 (BSM 6MT Exec CarPlay, TechnicPnP ASD bypass, IND M Perf shift knob + keyhole cover, Pedal Haus pedals + heel plate, 3M CR90 tint, BavSound Ghost woofers, Racing Dynamics strut tower brace, Dinan midpipe, Turner intercooler)
'00 Honda S2000 (Silverstone Metallic, black leather, factory titanium shift knob + front lip + trunk spoiler, front shock tower brace, front subframe x-brace)