Will the future M4 convertible have a soft top?

[bmw-nj]

Will the next generation M4 convertible feature a soft top to save weight?

Why does the more premium 6 series have a soft top but the M4 has a heavy hardtop?

[M3Fahrer]

I'm not a fan of convertibles, but i would take a hard top convertible over a a soft top any day. Hard top looks so much better, IMO

[Super Spartan]

Originally Posted by bmw-nj

Will the next generation M4 convertible feature a soft top to save weight?

I hope they don't. Soft tops are shit!

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by Snappy Phoenix

I hope they don't. Soft tops are shit!

Works great in my Z4 M Roadster. Way better than the heavy, hardtop convertible, non-M E89 Z4 Roadster.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by bmw-nj

Why does the more premium 6 series have a soft top but the M4 has a heavy hardtop?

Because it's not about "premium" it's about product and the 3er sells way more (so dev cost is spread out) and a hard top is more practical (winter, security, etc) and for people that want a coupe look.

6er clients want a convertible country club sled look - porsche even wrapped a more/less magnesium hard top in fabric so it looks soft top. 6er buyers want everyone to know they have a convertible.

So it comes down to what the buyer behavior is and what makes more $

[dv8pdx]

The next get 4 series will have a soft top, its been in the works for the next G23 for a while. As will the new Z4 and the new 8 series convertible. The hard seems to have died at BMW. But I always thought the 6 series soft top was sexier than a 4 series hard top.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by dv8pdx

I always thought the 6 series soft top was sexier than a 4 series hard top.

This is why porsche covers a magnesium hardtop with fabric, because there are two kinds of convertible buyers:

* Cruisers want a convertible look even with the top up - they care most about looks

* Sport drivers want a more tactile experience while sport driving, thus roadsters - they care most about experience

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

This is why porsche covers a magnesium hardtop with fabric, because there are two kinds of convertible buyers:

* Cruisers want a convertible look even with the top up - they care most about looks

* Sport drivers want a more tactile experience while sport driving, thus roadsters - they care most about experience

Are we going to get into that whole discussion of what a "sports car" is again? I just love how you make up your own definitions!

Being from SoCal, you should know that "cruisers" (AKA "low riders") drive Chebbys on really small chrome spoke wheels and that hydraulics are important...

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

Are we going to get into that whole discussion of what a "sports car" is again? I just love how you make up your own definitions!

All definitions are made up by someone, might as well be me!

And, as with all words and terms, they usually start out as a combination or contraction, and then get genericized and added to the dictionary at which point some ascribe a metaphysical truth to them.

For example, "humongous" was a contraction of "huge" and "monstrous" that I made up in the 70s. It caught on and eventually was added to the dictionary, mostly because people wanted to be cool like me.

"Sports car" is another such term that started showing up in the 1920s. Interestingly MacMillan defines it as

a small fast car, often with a roof that you can take off

This definition is interesting to this thread because it states with metaphysical certainty that a "small fast car" with a removable roof is DEFINITELY a "sports car" but if you don't have a "roof that you can take off" then you may not drive a sports car. That's true.

I've decided to use the slightly more descriptive phrase "sport driver" which, just like humongous, will eventually be in a dictionary with it's first known usage here

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by bmw-nj

Will the next generation M4 convertible feature a soft top to save weight?

It will feature a soft top, but not to save weight. As noted above by dv8pdx (and this has been supported in the past by SCOTT and other insiders), the G23 4 Series convertible will return to a soft top, so the M4 based upon it will too.

The soft top will save some weight vs. the hard top, but probably not as much as you might think. It's really the convertible infrastructure and additional chassis stiffening that add most of the weight vs. the coupe. You can still expect a G23 to outweigh an equivalent G22 by a few hundred pounds.

Why does the more premium 6 series have a soft top but the M4 has a heavy hardtop?

As suggested by GrussGott, it's about what buyers of those respective vehicles expected. But buyer preferences and market conditions change. Many of the hard top convertibles that were on the market or known to be coming at the time the E93, and later, the F33, were conceived have since gone. Furthermore, BMW saw its competitors in this segment stick with a soft top and still sustain sales. So, they feel they no longer need the more complex hard top to make the business case.

As for the 6, for whatever reason, larger, more premium four seat personal luxury coupes like the 6 Series never migrated to hard tops. One reason is probably that, at that size, the roof becomes more of an engineering challenge to be made reliable than costs allow.