BMW designer rules out Z4 hardtop

The company had penned a Z4 coupe but did not want to cannibalize M4 and M2 sales.

BMW has apparently ruled out the possibility of a Z4 variant with a retractable hardtop.

Speaking to Australia's GoAuto, Z4 designer Calvin Luk said that the Z4 was envisioned from its inception as a soft-top convertible.

"From the beginning we knew that it was going to be a soft-top mostly just because of the performance advantage in terms of the weight, so we didn't need to mock up an alternative to that," he said.

The engineering team apparently had the final say in whether to utilize a retractable hardtop or a traditional soft top.

Previous rumors suggest the company had sketched a hardtop coupe variant but the idea was ultimately shot down due to potential cannibalization of the company's other two-door coupes, namely the M2 and M4.