The folding metal hard top of past generations is ditched in favour for a lighter alternative.
The upcoming BMW 4 series cabriolet has been spied with a cloth top instead of the usual metal folding roof solution of cabrios past starting from the E90 generation of 3 series cabriolet.
Still sporting camouflage at the tail section, the black canvas roof on this white example spied testing appears to follow the basic design of the metal-roof design of previous iterations. Like the previous generations, this 2+2 cabriolet still retains the large rear deck instead of the swooping roofline of the coupe.
The switch from metal back to canvas has been increasingly common in cabriolets nowadays due to packaging reasons thanks to the ever increasing size of cars nowadays. A canvas roof also brings with it the advantage of being lighter as compared to its metal folding roof alternative, improving the car’s centre of gravity. However it does come with the detriment as not feeling as solid when the roof is up.
Based on this spy shots, one could take an educated guess that this is not the hottest 4 series cabriolet out there. Although the M4 cabriolet is slated to launch some time early next year, this test mule appears to be possibly the 430i variant of the 4 series cabriolet as it lacks many of the performance trinkets usually found on the full-fat M variant, or even the sporty M sport model.
On the style front, the front end design with that massive grille will continue to divide opinions for a long time coming. On this lesser version of the 4 series though, the front end appears to be a cleaner design than the renders seen of the performance variants. Possibly thanks to the lack of aero or aesthetic bits tacked on to make the front look more sharper and more aggressive.
At the rear, although the camouflage is still present. The near-identical tail lights off the 3 series is still noticeable, along with the third brake light that now resides on the deck spoiler on the boot-lid.
The rear camouflage also fails to disguise the fact that there is no fancy rear diffuser. Leaving only the twin tailpipes poking out at the decidedly naked looking rear, which most probably will be connected to a 2.0 litre turbocharged four cylinder.
Gone are the days where the 30 suffix on BMWs mean a 3 litre straight six. This honour is only reserved for the higher trim M440i now. That being said, this four-cylinder mill that incidentally is also found on the current 330i still pumps out an adequate 255 hp and may drive either only the rear wheels or all four wheels, depending on the market in which this cabrio is sold.
With the 4 series coupe shocking the world with its bold design during its global debut in June, this new cabriolet version will probably continue to spark heated debates on forums worldwide when it launches possibly in the coming weeks.
